THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini

[kampanaryo_spy]

Abb,

Am so happy that like us, you liked the book and cried a river.

Aside from knowing what you meant and totally agreeing with you, I so love this line of yours: It’s almost like “young lovers” having an emotional tug of war trying to prove to each other as to who can suffer the most just to prove he/she loves the best.

“Couldn’t he have just smelled an onion?” I laughed hard when Hassan told Amir this. Just because Hassan was an illiterate slave didn’t mean he had no brains. In fact Hassan was, how’s that again, Amir?, “IMBECILE!” hahaha

And yes, I also laughed about Kabul’s credit card at the time of Amir/Hassan’s youth. I remember the time when Papa would send me to Iya Ala Ortega for some bottles of beer. With her chalk, Iya Ala would just write a line across the door jamb to keep track of the number of bottles of beer Papa owed her.

All westerns that Amir saw I also did. Please don’t forget that Dr. Hosseini is just two years older than me.

And yes, how love between Amir and Soraya bloomed at the flea market on Sunday mornings. I liked the “yelda” reference.

Ahhh, the now famous Chapter 12. Things start to get blurry from where I sit as I think about it.

Dunno about you, but I was convinced by Hassan’s character as drawn by Hosseini. I only had to think of Hassan’s circumstance and Afghanistan’s caste system to believe him to be true.

You captured the story’s frame more beautifully than I had done, in this line: He started with the memory that ended Amir and Hassan's friendship. Then, he ended it with Amir running a kite for Sohrab, Hassan’s son in order to win his friendship.

As to peeing eggshells, it’s part of Afghanistan’s fish wives’ tales that if you eat inadvertently a piece of eggshell, you’d pass it with your urine. This is in the same league with our mothers telling us not to swallow santol seed or it will grow inside us and leaves will sprout from our ears, mouth, and nose.

The Filipino? Hahahahahahahaha. I remember telling Tetes that Filipinos are all over, especially at flea markets (UK, man, UK!). And it was in character with Filipinos to be there when something happens. Which makes me wonder if Dr. Hosseini is part Tagon-on or what?

Abb, does Dr. Hosseini’s writing his first novel at the age of 41 say something?=P~

[farm82557]

K Spy yes, it says you can write one or more also. So, don't take your sweet time and please hurry. We are waiting. .

[Alibangbang]

K-Spy,

Thank you....

MOST CERTAINLY . .... this is not a push but a gentle reminder to depeches toi! (hurry up!), secoues toi! (shake a leg!) and get on with it already!!!!!

You said: "Which makes me wonder if Dr. Hosseini is part Tagon-on or what"

K-Spy, I think you're right! ! Have you notice how he laid out their courtship system and mechanics? (flea market scenes) Isn't it so parallel to Tagon-ons? Diba ag taraw mag palabay-labay si boylet sa bay ni girlet? tapos an mga pasiplat nan mga mata? And the parents' action and reaction? (this kinda tickle me silly hahahahaha)

[kampanaryo_spy]

K Spy yes, it says you can write one or more also.

farm,

wish ko lang!

[kampanaryo_spy]

K-Spy,

get on with it already!!!!!

whew! P-R-E-S-S-U-R-E

[kampanaryo_spy]

abb,

did i tell you about my classmate at USC who now
lives in sta monica? the books she sent last week
have arrived. abb, am so happy i could die!


i wonder if these books (Vol. 1 and 2) have helped
khaled hosseini write his novels.


now i can finally bid adieu to my heavily battered
downloaded copy of this book. for many years now, this has
been my bible. everybody who wants to write good english
MUST read---and if possible, MASTER---this book.

in his book "ON WRITING" that abb had given me,
Stephen King said that this is the ONLY BOOK about
grammar and composition that doesn't have s**t in it!

here goes a sampler from William Strunk, Jr.:

"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain
no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary
sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should
have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary
parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences
short, or avoid all detail and treat subject only in outline,
but that every word tell."

[badung]

K-spy,

You're so lucky. You've got the best tools now. I think "The Elements of Style" is a must-have. I bought one when I was preparing for the CPA exam. I knew that in order for me to get a good score for the essay questions, I just have to make the best preparation. At one time, I was even thinking of asking you if you already have a copy of this book because I believe that you should have one.

I would also like to say that now is the time for you to write a novel. You are gifted, K-spy. What are you waiting for? We are all behind you to provide assistance if you ever need.

I am now reading the TKR. I haven't cried yet. But any moment, I know, I will.

[sughac]

K-spy,

You're so lucky. You've got the best tools now. I think "The Elements of Style" is a must-have. I bought one when I was preparing for the CPA exam. I knew that in order for me to get a good score for the essay questions, I just have to make the best preparation. At one time, I was even thinking of asking you if you already have a copy of this book because I believe that you should have one.

I would also like to say that now is the time for you to write a novel. You are gifted, K-spy. What are you waiting for? We are all behind you to provide assistance if you ever need.

I am now reading the TKR. I haven't cried yet. But any moment, I know, I will.

K-spy,

i agree with badung but please let me know when it s done cz i'll be on the frontline of the promotional work force.

[Alibangbang]

Si Classmate ni Abbs gaumot isab nan Angels and Demons (si Camerlengo ni Pope). Pero ag dayon makatuyog kay tiguyang naman.

Sa ako okey da sa lang ini kay dili sa ako kon bookworm kanimo K-Spy dili na ini an level mo.

Kamps & Abbs,

Anymore suggestions for us add to our hit list. Promise ako gayod basahon. Yaon makabagbag damdamin. Thanks.

Insom, et, al;

Please tell Classmate Bravo!!!! A&D is a fast action filled book. He should finish it in no time.

Felt honored you asked, and I’m so happy to recommend some but first, let me warn you that my choice is diverse. I’m a sucker for classics --- I mean 17th and 18th century classics, (K-Spy tells me; “Elizabethan kaw gayod Abb” and I’d tell him, “yes, I strongly feel connected, convinced that I’m a reincarnation from that past” !!! But hmmmm... I like his line on "They don't watch movie..." article better. Next time he teases me, I'll give it right back at him with "SO...SUE ME!!!!" hahahaha peace K-Spy peace!) as well as contemporary stories.

As a cautionary, we all think, feel, react, and imagine differently. Choosing a book is like choosing a lipstick shade or cologne to wear, it’s a matter of personal taste. A book that I’d obsess with and have read a dozen times over, may not appeal to you or anybody at all and vice versa. Case in point? Tatay and I. He loved Edgar Allan Poe's tale of mysteries and of macabre while it scared the living day light out of me. That's why book clubs encourage book discussion

I’ve thought hard, high and low and here is a partial (I say partial because there’s more I just can’t remember them right now) list of my favorite authors. Along side I’ve indicated the book/books they’ve written that I’ve read and reread for the sheer pleasure it gives me. You might have read some of them already. This list is in no particular order of my preference:

Let’s start with the classics and work our way down to contemporary:

Louisa May Alcott (“Little Women”, “The Inheritance”)
Alexandre Dumas (“The Count of Monte Cristo”)
Charles Dickens (“Great Expectation”)
Elizabeth Gaskell (“Wives and Daughters”, “North & South”)

L.M. Montgomery (“Anne of Green Gables” Series 1 to 8 ) Some parts get wordy, but the setting reminds me so much of home.
Homer (“Odyssey”)
Charlotte Bronte (“Jane Eyre”)

Daphne Du Maurier (“Rebecca”) - K-Spy, we discussed about this on Stephen King’s “On Writing”
Jane Austen (“Sense and Sensibility”, “Emma”, “Northanger Abbey” and my all time favorite “Pride and Prejudice” I'm ashame to say how many times I've read this book!!! :-D )
Jane Dawkins (“Letters from Pemberley Book 1 & 2)

Ernest Hemingway (“The Old Man and the Sea”, “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, “Islands in the Stream”, “The Sun also Rises”, “The Complete Short Stories”) – K-Spy we discussed about these

Umberto Eco (“The Island of the Day Before”, “The Name of the Rose”, “The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana”, “Foucault’s Pendulum”) – K-Spy you and I had a discussion about this author.

John Irving (“The Cider House Rules” - K-Spy we had a back and forth discussion about this “The World According to Garp”)

Arthur Golden (“Memoirs of a Geisha”) – K-Spy we talked about this
David Davidar (“The House of Blue Mangoes”)
Elizabeth Kostova (“The Historian”)
Lisa See (“Snow Flower and the Secret Fan”, “On Gold Mountain”)

Tim Russert (“Wisdom of our Fathers”)
Gilda Cordero Fernando (“The Last Full Moon”) – Spy we discuss briefly about this

Anthony Bourdain (“Kitchen Confidential’)
John Grogan (“Marley & Me”) This book is a fluke hahaha I was bawling!!!

Katharine Graham (“Personal History”) – K-Spy we discussed this

Helen Fielding (“Bridget Jones Diary”, “Bridget Jones the Edge of Reason”, “Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination”)
Arthur Phillips (“The Egyptologist”)
Charles Webb (“New Cardiff’) This book is all about dialogue very little narration

Rose King (“Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling”) K-Spy we talked about this
Aron Ralston (“Between a Rock and a Hard Place”) – And this

Lee & Bob Woodruff (“In An Instant’)
JK Rowling (“The Harry Potter” Series) Insom, thanks to my 12 year old, the series grow on me and was rewarded at the end

More favorites …
Raymond Khoury
Erma Bombeck – K-Spy I remember you telling me how she’d made you laugh.
Art Buchwald – K-Spy we each had reasons why we cried over his last book.

Dan Brown - Insom, please tell classmate I'd like to hear his personal opinion about the book HERE AT THE FORUM

Philippa Gregory
Amanda Quick also goes under Jayne Ann Krentz


Nick Bantock – K-Spy I recall we had our version of Griffin & Sabine (An extraordinary Correspondence) how I had laughed when your email read" “Sabine ikaw ba yan” when I had guessed how you had dressed that morning. Oh email... how it can change the event of our day hahahahahah


James Patterson - Love him !!!!!
Mary Higgins Clark
Mitch Albom – K-Spy didn’t you cry buckets on his “Tuesdays with Morrie”? Me too.
Charles Stanley
Nicholas Sparks.......

(Book discussions with K-Spy were done via PMs or emails. It's during these exchanges that K-Spy impress me no end with his witty comments, clever remarks to express his keen opinion, knowledge and understanding of these books. Yap, K-Spy, you're the coach and I'm the player)

If above is an overkill, I beg your pardon, I got carried away. Really so many more and not enough time read!!!!!

Talking about not having enough time, I have to go now.... the kids are hungry, duty calls me to the kitchen .... then ... the laundry!!!

Happy reading you all….

PS - Insom, abay ko gayod hunahuna-on ad-on imo angsuhan na paga gisa na mantika nan baboy. Porbida ga tubod gayod an ako laway.

Ga asyoso si Karlo paga tan-aw inin ako trabaho laong dayon “MOMMY!!!!!! You’re giving Tita Lalaine pain!!!!” hahahahah….

Na hala. . . . ayoayo kamo ngaton

[Alibangbang]

abb,

did i tell you about my classmate at USC who now
lives in sta monica? the books she sent last week
have arrived. abb, am so happy i could die!


i wonder if these books (Vol. 1 and 2) have helped
khaled hosseini write his novels.


now i can finally bid adieu to my heavily battered
downloaded copy of this book. for many years now, this has
been my bible. everybody who wants to write good english
MUST read---and if possible, MASTER---this book.

in his book "ON WRITING" that abb had given me,
Stephen King said that this is the ONLY BOOK about
grammar and composition that doesn't have s**t in it!

here goes a sampler from William Strunk, Jr.:

K-Spy,

Happy those finally got there !!! Yes, I knew they were coming.
The writing's on the wall. THE HEAT IS ON, THE HEAT IS ON!!!!!!
But take your time. No need to rush things

Sug, basta hasa-a da-an lamang an imo sales pitch okay?

Farm/Bads... keep those fingers crossed...and let's hope that the wheels are about to be set in motion and the ball's about to roll

K-Spy, "A 1000 Splendid" is on the way too....

Hope you're enjoying your weekend.

[kampanaryo_spy]

abb,

i'm impressed by your elephantine memory. i lost track of the number of PMs and emails we've exchanged just to discuss those stories.

over the weekend, i've read the books i received last friday. gosh, they only heightened my ineptitude as a pseudo writer that i can't even begin to think of the rewrites i have to make just to resurrect stories in my lit morgue!

can't wait for the book, "A Thousand Splendid Suns," to arrive. thanks daan.

[kampanaryo_spy]

K-spy,

I think "The Elements of Style" is a must-have. I bought one when I was preparing for the CPA exam.

badung,

no wonder you write SO WELL!


TO THE REST,

if you don't have a copy of this book yet, i suggest you get one. it's a THIN book, and it has the following:

a. 11 Elementary Rules of Usage;
b. 11 Principles of Composition; and
c. A Few Matters of Form.

it's a small price to pay for a great manual. or-----shhhhhhh---you can download this from the Net.

[Insomada]

Abbs,

Please tell Carlo you didn't give me pain but excitement. I was so overwhelmed to read your post. Thanks so much for the great effort. I really appreciate it to the full.

Yahurot na an angsuhan. Paga payer payeran gayod dayon namo. Pero yahadlok ako kay basin motaas an blood pressure ko kay maasin lagi. Pero sigi lang ako inom nan damoe na tubig.

I think your classmate is now halfway with the A&D. Tapos na ako nan yaon kanaman impasa ko kaniya. Basin sunod niya Deception Point from the same author or the irresistible DVC. I liked them a bit. Basin ganahan isab siya.



Kamps,

I'll try to download them from the net if unsuccessful I would then buy. Thanks for the tip.


Bads,

Uno na gatiyaho na kaw with your TKR. Wara pay ako kopya kay ako naa pagahinay hinayan inin ini sa ako mga kamot. Pahuway naa ako nan John Grisham (laong ni Kamps) kay kapoy na ako nan court scenes. I've just started Executive Action by Richard Doyle. Seems I would be hooked with it.

[badung]

badung,

no wonder you write SO WELL!

thank you, k-spy.

[badung]

Bads,

Uno na gatiyaho na kaw with your TKR.

Insoms,

Yep, arang ko na tiyaho, hastan pila pa ka adlaw this week, sige ako makatiyaho. I finished the book last Saturday but I kept thinking about Baba. And thoughts of him remind me of a very special person in my life.