Zia Quizon enjoys quirky and dark reads

I have been bumping into the delightful Zia Quizon quite often these last few days. She was at the Swatch-Philippine STAR event recently. She also launched a fragrance at the Avon Media Party called Sweet Honesty. I asked her to share with us some of her favorite books.

 1. Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard Feynman. “It is a collection of anecdotes as told by the Nobel Prize-winning physicist himself. This book delves into his work on The Manhattan Project, his bongo-playing adventures in Brazil, to his Vegas bender with matching mystery ‘50s celebrity. Rest assured, it doesn’t take a genius to enjoy reading about the life of one of science’s quirkiest characters.” 

2. Veronika Decides to Die by Paul Coelho. “One of my favorite stories by Coelho, mostly because, even though he tackles such dark themes like the subjectivity of human sanity, he still keeps a positive attitude about the human spirit. I also find it a nice personal touch that he wrote himself into the story.”

3 Lumbay ng Dila by Genevieve Asenjo. “I was introduced to this book in college when I had the pleasure of having the author as a professor. I felt that I had a lot in common with the female protagonist — a literature professor in DLSU trying to stay true to her writing, her heart and her country in an ever-changing world.” 

4. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. “This story follows the charming misadventures of a 15-year-old high-functioning autistic boy following the murder of his neighbor’s dog and his subsequent quest for the culprit. It is a whimsical reality seen through interesting perspective.” 

5 Why Do Men Have Nipples?:  Hundreds of Questions You’d Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Martini by Mark Leyner. “I’ve always been an inquisitive and curious person, so non-fiction books like this one are what you’d usually find in my bag tucked away as my current read. This book has given me the answer to some age-old medical anomalies like: Why do some people get hungry so soon after Chinese food? Why do older folks start growing hair in their ears? And why do we tear up while cutting onions?” 

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The Reading Club’s own personal book choice this week is Hemingway’s Boat by Paul Hendrickson.

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Your comments and suggestions are welcome at gr.rodis@gmail.com.