book-aklat-libro

Logos Hope... the floating book fair visits Manila

2012-02-18T15:19:00.000-08:00

THE BIGGEST FLOATING LIBRARY is in town carrying thousands of books for sale. Logos Hope arrived Manila on the 16th Feb and it will be staying at Pier 15 until 13 March, and will proceed to Subic Bay (north of Manila).

Manila is a regular destination of GBA Ships since the first ship, M/V Doulos was commissioned to sail in bringing knowledge, help and hope to the people around the world. I was able to take on board in the 90s and bought books for my teaching class in the undergrad course.

Logos Hope has 408 personnel on board coming from 56 different countries, and eight (8) of them are from the Philippines.

The floating library opens from Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10AM to 9:30PM, and on Sundays 1-9:30PM and closes on Mondays.

For details, CLICK HERE.

A motivational stories of Ping - the Frog

2012-02-13T06:33:00.011-08:00

If you want to discover Ping's motivation to live intentionally, then these books written by Stuar t Avery Gold will provide you the answers.

The story of Ping motivates us to face the changes in our lives and take a leap of faith to make our dreams come true... but sometimes we do not have the courage to do it because of fear to change, fear of taking risks, or someone will scrutinize our plans.

Ping also able to understand what "intentional life" means - an intentional living of what you do is one with what you are. It is about living with "clarity of purpose, an open heart, and a lively mind gives us the power to direct our destinies". Finally, it is "to live by choice not by chance..."

Ping's life is an adventure and it is an inspiration for us to do what we believe in. It is a journey that reminds us that to be successful in life is by lifting others and sometimes we need the belief (wisdom) of others too. And "never lose sight of what you desire or where you wish to be..."

BookFace: Guide Book in passing Philippine bar exam

2012-02-12T05:08:00.000-08:00

ARE YOU ONE OF THOSE who will be taking the Philippine law exam (or bar exam) this year? Either first time or repeaters, this book might be able to provide you a practical guide and realistic tips in passing the exam especially for those who are working fulltime or who could not attend regular review classes.

I met the author late last year when he was the primary lecturer of our corporate seminar on proper or valid employee dismissal. Being one of the project managers, the seminar provided us invaluable information on how to tackle termination of employees which will not also benefit the employers but also the employees.

Atty. Elvin Villanueva has written several books related to Philippine labor, compensation and benefits. But he also written a book that somehow explains his personal story on how he passed the licensure bar exam and to be a full-pledged lawyer. Atty Villanueva shared his story, anectodes and events that took place prior and after his bar exam in 2009 thru his latest book entitled, How to Pass the Bar Exams. Atty. Elvin also shares his views on the new bar exam system that covers 60% multiple choice questions and 40% memorandum-type essay.

I bought the book as a Xmas presence to my cousin who is now in the final year of her law course in San Beda. I asked Atty. Elvin to write a dedication in the hard cover of the book as an inspiration for my cousin to pass the exam this year. Good luck my dear cousin (Atty. S.T.) and Im sure you will be successful to pass with high marks in 8 subjects!
What is the secret of topping the bar exam...? The answer is - good grasp of the subjects, good English, good penmanship, and prayer... Noel Malimban"
If you want to find out more about the book and other Atty Villanueva's publications, please CLICK HERE.

Welcome to my E-library

2011-10-23T00:04:00.000-07:00

I am building up my e-library providing a list of various books and authors that really inspired me to read more and be an avid fan of their characters.

Someday in my hometown back in one of the islands in the Philippines, I will be able to have a mini-library of my own where everyone could visit and of course to spend time to read my collections for free! Most of the time Im living abroad so I collected alot of these books and mags which give me headache when it comes to packing and sending home to Philippines. It costs me alot of money, BUT Im determined to collect more and share it with my kababayan...

If you want to donate books, I'm very please to arrange for partnership which will acknowledge your involvement and generosity to take part in my project. Please don't hesitate to contact me privately or you can leave your message in the comment box.

"Learning is a continuous process and reading is a lifelong learning experience...and books are our best companion to make it happen, ultimately to be treasured forever!"

Featured Author: Samantha Sotto sharing her first debut novel

2011-10-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to introduce another Filipino achiever, no other than SAMANTHA SOTTO. She is the author of Before Ever After who happened to be the first Pinoy writer to publish a book by Crown Publishers/Random House (New York, USA).

I had the chance to chat with the author during her online radio station interview with PinoyRadioUK. Samantha's debut story was inspired by her travel experiences in Europe. Of course, I asked her to be featured in my blogsite and she answered some of the questions. She also maintains a blog for her fans to get more updates of her writings and travels, including promotional tours and signing engagements for her book.

Last month, I finally met her during the International Book Fair in Manila which I will also write a journal about the event very soon.

Samantha perfectly answered my top 10 questions!

1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? When I typed "The End" after I wrote Before Ever After. I had written the book for fun, but the dream of publishing the book began only when I had finished it.

2. How long does it take you to write a book? About a year for writing and three months for editing. Time went by fast since I enjoyed the process.

3. What is your work schedule like when you're writing? I try to write for two to three hours every morning on weekdays.I'm on mommy duty the rest of the day.

4. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? I cannot read other books while I'm writing. I don't want to inadvertently copy someone else's style.

5. What does your family think of your writing? They're very supportive, but they also give it to me straight. I really appreciate their honest feedback.

6. How many books have you written? Which is your favourite? Before Ever After is my first book. I'm working on my next book now.

7. Do you hear from your readers much? Wha kind of things do they say? Yes! They send me notes of appreciation about the book and share how they were able to relate to the story.

8. What do you think makes a good story? As a reader, I appreciate stories with intriguing mystery boxes, fascinating characters, and good pacing.

9. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? I wanted to be Tina Monzon Palma. (note: Tina is one of the respected and excellent tv broadcasters in the Philippines).

10. Who is your favourite author(s)? Neil Gaiman. I love his humor and the way he weaves magic into his stories.

THANK YOU SAM and I am glad that I met you in person! Im bit busy at the moment, but I will write my review of the book soon! To find more about her debut novel and updates, visit her blogsite: SamanthaSotto.

Manila International Book Fair 2011

2011-09-12T07:59:00.000-07:00

VENUE : Exhibit Halls 1 – 4, SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City, Metro Manila

EVENT DATES: September 14 - 18, 2011

EVENT HOURS: 10:00 A.M. – 8:00 P.M.

ORGANIZERS: Primetrade Asia, Incorporated
5th Floor Accelerando Building,395 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Bry. Bel-Air, 1209 Makati City, Metro Manila
Telephone Nos. (632) 896-0661, 896-0682 • Fax No.: (632) 896-0695; Website: www.primetradeasia.com

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS: Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP); Asian Catholic Communicators, Inc. (ACCI); Philippine Booksellers Association, Inc. (PBAI); Overseas Publishers’ Representatives Association of the Philippines (OPRAP)

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS: Association of Special Libraries of the Philippines (ASLP); Medical & Health Librarians Association of the Philippines (MAHLAP); Ortigas Center Library Consortium (OCLC) Inc.; Philippine Association of Academic and Research Librarians (PAARL); Philippine Association of Teachers of Library Science (PATLS); Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (PLAI); University of the Philippines Library Science Alumni Assn. (UPLSA).

Bjorn Lomborg: the skeptical environmentalist

2011-08-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

I MET HIM IN PERSON WHEN I WAS A POSTGRAD STUDENT at the University of Queensland (UQ), Brisbane (Australia). He gave a free public lecture on 01 October 2003 at the UQ Centre, and who wrote a book-selling book, The Skeptical Environmentalist - Measuring the Real State of the World. The book became controversial among the communities of scientists and environmentalists arguing that the "book's litany of errors and misinterpretations can be explained by the fact that the author has no qualifications in any area related to it." Some groups also cricitised Cambridge University Press for publishing and promoting the book which is an "error-filled, poorly referenced and non-reviewed work."

I purchased the book at A$50.95 and Bjorn got it signed after his lecture at UQ. Surprisingly, almost one-third of the book content is pages of Notes and Bibliography, and still it is referred as "poorly-referenced" work.

I do share with Bjorn's ideas on the real state of our environment. He states that: "the key idea is what we ought not to let the environmental organizations, business lobbyists or the media be alone in presenting truths and priorities. Rather, we should strive for a careful democratic check on the environmental debate, by knowing the real state of the world - having knowledge of the most important facts and connections in the essential areas of our world."

Global warming is one of the hottest issues of the present time and Bjorn clearly explained three important lessons that everyone should know about it: (a) First, we have to realize what we are arguing about - do we want to handle global warming in the most efficient way or do we want to use global warming as a stepping stone to other political projects; (b) Second, we should not spend vast amounts of money to cut a tiny slice of the global temperature increase when this constitutes a poor use of resources and when we could probably use these funds far more effectively in the developing world; and (c) Third, we should realize that the cost of global warming will be substantial...since cutting back CO2 emissions quickly becomes very constly, and easily counterproductive, we should focus more of our effort at finding ways of easing the emission of greenhouse gases over the long run. AMEN TO THAT!!!

Only at the middle of this year that I bought another book authored by him entitled, COOL IT at discounted price of 200 pesos (hardbound, less than 5 US dollars) only. Again, one-third of the book contains notes and reference list! Bjorn supported my understanding about Global Warming, or now it is popularly coined as "Climate Change" because the earth is totally cooling at the moment! The book argues that: "(a) global warming is real and man-made; (b) statements about the strong, ominous and immediate consequences of global warming are often wildly exaggerated; and (c) many other issues are much more important than global warming."

FINALLY, I do share Bjorn's sentiments that his books can help us to better understand the various environmental issues that our Mother Earth is facing... be smarter about solutions to solve them, and also to regain our perspective on the most effective and efficient ways to make Mother Earth a better place that all of us desire to achieve!

Note: Cool It is now a motion picture...watch the trailer below!

National Bookstore (Philippines) sales still goin' on...

2011-08-04T18:26:00.000-07:00

BEING A "LAKING NATIONAL" cardholder, I get points for every purchase and turn to peso equivalent from this biggest bookshop in the Philippines. National Bookstore is currently offers cut-off prices of books up to 75%. This offers started last 29 July and will end on the 21st August.
Since I arrived Manila last May 2011, I already bought dozens of books of my favourite authors as low as 75 pesos (approx 1 pound/1.7 US dollars)! It seems that it is already a habit to visit this bookshop during weekends and I can not help to grab one or two pocket books to be added to my personal collection.

With my present commitment at work, it is difficult to update my blog or even write a journal on books that Ive bought and read. Despite this, my enthusiasm to share my passion for books is not fading but thriving every day! Even I seldom write on my blog, it does not mean that I dont read or buy books... believe me, it is addictive to read stories! Of course, dont forget that I have my best companion, Amazon Kindle that gives me the convenience to read while travelling - inside the MRT or just sipping a coffee at Starbucks! I am currently reading three books - one before I sleep, one from my Kindle and another copy in my office bag!

By the way, National Bookstore near Getaway/Araneta Coliseum has a whole floor dedicated for second-hand books at very reasonable prices. So, if you have the chance to visit Cubao, then why not spend time to find out by yourself of what I've discovered!

Go...share your passion in reading...to lead...

Ambeth Ocampo: A Filipino Writer's book signing at Powerbooks

2011-06-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

AMBETH OCAMPO IS A FILIPINO HISTORIAN, a well-known journalist and currently a professor of Ateneo de Manila University's History Department is having a booksigning at Powerbooks in Trinoma shopping mall (Quezon City, Philippines) on the 24th June 2011. Powerbooks organised this Ocampo's talk and booksigning in celebration of Jose Rizal's 15oth birthday anniversary. (Click the left image for details).

Ambeth is also invited to give a lecture at Ayala Museum, Makati (Philippines) on the 25h June. His talk is entitled Mukhang Pera: Banknotes and Nation. There is a fee of PHP350, inclusive for museum admission and a complimentary book of Ocampo, entitled Meaning and History - The Rizal Lectures.

FOR DETAILS OF THE LECTURE SERIES AT AYALA MUSEUM,

CLICK HERE OR CLICK THE RIGHT IMAGE ABOVE.

Books on Sales @ PowerBooks and Fullybooked (Philippines)

2011-06-08T23:01:00.000-07:00

ONE OF THE BOOKSTORE CHAINS IN THE PHILIPPINES is offering a selection of discounted books up to 80 percent until June 15, 2011. POWERBOOKS located at Mall of Asia (MOA) is now on clearance sale as the store is closing down very soon. The store is also offering online purchase and free delivery for a minimum single receipt of purchase of 5,000 pesos. This is free delivery service for Metro Manila area only. For details, click the images or HERE.

ANOTHER BOOKSTORE, FULLY BOOKED is also offering a weekend sale at Mall of Asia in celebration of the Philippine Independence Day (June 12).

BookFace: Courtesy of Chapters & Pages (Philippines)

2011-05-24T02:22:00.000-07:00

THIS IS THE FIRST JOURNAL OF MY BOOKFACE series featuring books that I purchased in the Philippines. As usual, visiting bookstores and bargain bookshops is always included in my window shopping. I was surprised that alot of bookstores are now flourishing in the metropolis (inside the malls), aside from the original ones like National Bookstore and Powerbooks.

When I left the Philippines in 2005, it was hard to find secondhand books unless I have to go to the university belt in C.M.Recto where old copies could be found. At that time, it was also expensive to hardbound books.

But few weeks ago, I found this bookshop at Market Market in the newly developed commercial district of Taguig (adjoining Bel-Air area), The Global City - the former Fort Bonifacio military camp. Chapters & Pages is located at the ground floor of the mall offering discounted books - from children to adults. The store is also promoting "buy one take one" at 100 pesos (almost US$2.50 or 1.50 sterling pounds).

After browsing for almost an hour, I was happy to bring the above three hardbound books home. Saving Private Ryan became a movie first under the direction of Steven Spielberg in 1998 and the book is based on its screenplay (Robert Rodat). This is my first attempt to read a book based from the film so I dont know if the book will exceed the outstanding reviews of the motion picture. The Children of Men also became a motion picture directed by Eduardo Cuaron in 2006. Written by P.D. James, a British writer and I only found out few weeks ago while reading a newspaper in London that she is a female novelist! Finally, Mary Higgins Clark's three complete novels (Weep No More, My Lady; StillWatch; and A Cry in the Night) in one edition. She is my first female author that really inspired me to read more, more and more! Surprisingly, I also discovered that most of her novels were became popular to be adapted in tv productions.

Featured Author: Stuart Neild - horror and thriller mastermind

2011-05-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

MY NEXT FEATURED AUTHOR IS SOMEONE WHO CAN STIR OUR IMAGINATION. Stuart Neild loves to write stories that go behind our wildest dreams. Unfortunately, I havent finished one of his ebooks, but Im sure it entice my appetite for horror, suspense and thriller plots.
I met Stuart online thru Amazon Kindle Facebook fanpage whom Im the administrator and he signed-up to become a member of the group. Without any hesitation, he accepted by invitation to be featured in my blog. I asked him some questions to get to know him better as a writer, and so here are his answers!

1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? I was very young. I can’t put an exact age on it, but I must have been about eight or nine.

2. How long does it take you to write a book? It all depends. My first published book was 100k words and took a year. A shorter book like the 40k worded Giant Killer Eels took three months

3. What is your work schedule like when you're writing? Once again it depends. I could be working away quite nicely on a novel, only to be yanked off it to do some screenplay work. Up to now, I’ve come pretty close to have certain works of mine filmed. My first novel A Haunted Man was in development in Hollywood for quite a while. And only last year a promo was shot for a British TV series I was co- writing with the very talented British director, WJ Davies.

4. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? That while I’m writing my books I have a bowl of healthy food to my left side, salad etc and to my right a plate of unhealthy food, burgers, fries. If everything is going to plan I eat from the left side, if it’s not, I comfort eat from the right. I’ve put on a couple of stones in the last few years.

5. What do you like to do when you're not writing? I’m really into reading on the kindle, it’s opened up whole new works to me that just wouldn’t have been available before. Some of them are great, some of them should never have been available, but I still want to peek anyway.

6. What does your family think of your writing? My Mother and Father have been very supportive, so have my children. My wife stands there watching and waiting like a hawk for any money that comes in. She’s still waiting now, in the corner over there with her hand outstretched. Doesn’t miss a trick that one.

7. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books? The fact that I’m still fired up and hungry to do more work after all these years, after all the disappointments and few victories, it still seems fresh, enjoyable and worth doing.

8. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite? I’ve written seven books so far and I have to say I like Gnomes the best. It’s full of very dark humor going close to the line of bad taste (and sometimes straying over the line.) It was a guilty pleasure writing it, but it seems to have won an audience as it’s my second most popular book.

9. Do you have any suggestions to help someone become a better writer? If so, what are they? Just practice. It’s the same in any art or sport, the more you do it, the more you learn and the more(in theory), you should improve.

10. Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say? Yes, I do hear from readers and there’s nothing better than hearing that they’ve enjoyed what you’ve written. The buzz from that is amazing.

11. What do you think makes a good story? Something that’s interesting. I think for the past two decades we’ve been bogged down in books full of wordy prose and padding that was only there to make the page count bigger. Somewhere along the way, snappy, interesting story telling that kept you entertained and hooked got a little lost. I think that’s coming back now with the Indie e-book market.

12. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? My first thought was to be older, but on second thoughts, it was a toss-up between being a writer and a superhero. I didn’t fancy the wearing of ones underpants on the outside that goes with being a superhero, so I choose to be a writer instead.

13. Who is your favourite author (s)? Guy N Smith has always been a writing hero of mine. Guy’s works were massive in the UK in the seventies and eighties. One of the first horror novels I ever read was Night of the Crabs by Guy. It’s a cult classic and still a favorite. It went on to spawn another five crab books and sell hundreds of thousands. I know they say you shouldn’t meet your idols but I met mine and I have to say, Guy is one of the most down to earth, nicest people you could meet. So nice in fact that myself and another writer, Dave Jeffery (check his work out now, he’s a genius) are writing the seventh crab novel for charity with Guy’s blessing.

14. If you are recommending one of your latest book to a friend - how would you describe it? The First Ghost Town, it will change your life forever, but will it be for the better or the worse, do you have the guts to find out?

INDEED I'M PLEASED THAT STUART AGREED TO BE PART OF MY blogsite and it seems that he really enjoying his craft as a writer. Stuart, thank you again for giving me free copies of your ebooks. Surely, I will post my review very soon! All his ebooks are available for download from both Amazon and Smashwords at very reasonal prices...

A close encounter with Candy Gourlay (Tall Story's author)

2011-05-09T19:42:00.000-07:00

(L-R: Myself, Lou Ramos, Candy G. and Mark W.). Im honoured to meet Candy Gourlay, the author of Tall Story in London last week prior to my departure to Manila. She even shared her latest vacation escapade in Manila especially when she and friends did a nature-trek to Mt. Pinatubo! It was really entertaining and hilarious story...

Tall Story grabbed the Crystal Kite Prize and shortlisted for this year's Primary Children's Book Prize of Warwickshire Library Service (UK).

I also extend my thanks to Ms Lou Ramos (of Philippine Embassy, London) for being the host of this meet-up, and nice knowing Mark (one of the founders of One Filipino).

To find more about Candy Gourlay, CLICK HERE.

Money is the root of good and bad things…

2011-04-23T13:29:00.000-07:00

JEFFREY ARCHER’S FIFTH SHORT STORIES COLLECTION contains a dozen of interesting plots with unexpected endings. Cat O’Nine Tales is another masterpiece from Jeff after his two years of incarceration – actually he picked the ideas for these stories while he was inside bars.

The twelve stories include the following: (1) The Man who robbed his own post office, (2) Maetro, (3) Don’t drink the water, (4) It can’t be October already, (5) The red king, (6) The wisdom of Solomon, (7) Know what I mean, (8) Charity begins at home, (9) The alibi, (10) A Greek tragedy, (11 The commissioner, and (12) In the eye of the beholder.

Among these stories, I like the plot and characters in (1), (2), (4), (6), (7), (8) and (10). “The man who robbed his own post office” is actually a couple that robbed their own business firm to earn back their original investment because they feel that the money will not be returned to them even they will work hard for the rest of their lives. The second story, Maestro is funny and unpredictable. Again, it is quite a reflection of a real situation when people try to evade from paying taxes. “It can’t be October already” (4th story) on the other hand, it is also a funny story - something that reflects the weakness of the legal system and being abused by criminals. The 6th story also shows how the legal process can pass fair judgment; while the 7th story that proves that despite the laws and regulations are properly administered and enforced, still there are some people can evade or get away from it. While the 8th story, Charity begins at home tells us that there are simple means in getting richer by money laundering. Finally, the 10th story also tells us that sometimes bad things happen for reasons, consequently the outcomes influence the way people live their lives.

Overall, Jeff proves that money is the main cause of all troubles and his stories also illustrate on how money can greatly influence our way of living, BUT it can also provide good karma to people. From a legal perspective, Jeff told the stories that allow the readers to understand the grounds for crime and the loopholes or weaknesses within the legal system. It is not a straight forward storytelling, but always with unexpected twists that linger in our mind for a while...

"A storyteller in the class of Alexander Dumas. . . Unsurpassed skill…making the reader wonder intensely what will happen next." (The Washington Post)

"There isn't a better story-teller alive." (Larry King)

"Archer is a master entertainer." (Time)

"Archer is a terrific story-teller, and meets the reader's ultimate tests---to want to turn the page to see what happens next." (Sunday Times, London)

"Probably the greatest storyteller of our age." (Mail on Sunday, London)

"Jeffrey Archer has a gift for plot that can only be described as genius." (Daily Telegraph, London)

"Cunning plots, silken style . . . Archer plays a cat-and-mouse game with the reader." (The New York Times)

Note: This book in hardbound is part of my Read-Release Challenge which is my personal commitment with my first participation in World Book Night 2011 (UK). I gave it as a birthday gift to a new friend from Nigeria and she's also a PhD student at the university where I'm currently enrolled.

BookFace: Short stories of Filipino Tales courtesy of Manybooks

2011-04-22T09:52:00.000-07:00

ANOTHER SET OF EBOOKS ABOUT FILIPINO TALES AVAILABLE IN MANYBOOKSdotNET. Not written in Filipino (Tagalog), but it is worth discovering Pinoy folklores and anting-anting stories which are translated/presented in English.

From the editor's Foreword, he describes the book (Anting-Anting) as a "collection of simple yet powerful stories...with dramatic vividness - pirates, half naked natives, pearls, man-apes, towering volcanoues...these remarkable stories written by Sargent Kayme dont exaggerate the realities of this strange life...strangest, perhaps, of all these possibilities for fiction is the anting-anting, at once a mysterious power to protect its possessor and the outward symbol of the protection."

On the other hand, Fansler's popular tales were collected during the years from 1908 to 1914. Written down in English but not in the original vernacular languages (Visayans, Tagalog, etc.) for the main reason of "recording these tales has been a literary one, not a linguistic one..."

Book Catcher Series Six: Courtesy of Enable Ireland (Dublin)

2011-04-19T03:28:00.000-07:00

SINCE I AM LEAVING FOR MANILA (PHILIPPINES) VERY SOON, I DECIDED TO VISIT DUBLIN (IRELAND) FOR THE LAST TIME. I visited some of the iconic urban forms (Spire, James Joyce, Temple Bar, Halfpenny bridge, etc.) at the city centre, including Makati Avenue Restaurant owned by a Filipina businesswoman. She even prepared authentic Filipino halo-halo (sweet icy dessert) for my me and my two companions.

As usual, I'm on my book hunt and luckily there was a charity shop nearby. Enable Ireland (Capel Street) is an Irish non-profit organisation that provides free services to children and adults with disabilities and their families from 40 locations in 14 counties.

With few minutes of browsing of its discounted books, I finally grabbed two bestseller copies of The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold) and Northern Lights (Philip Pullman) tagged at 1 Euro (approximately 50 pesos)! The Lovely Bones became a box office motion picture last year and it is a sad engaging story which somehow convinced me to grab the book, while Northern Lights (1995) is the first book of Pullman well-known trilogy, His Dark Materials and this book is also included in the launching of World Book Night 2011 in Britain. Northern Lights is the winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Award. Im also interested to read the its continuing story, The Subtle Knife (1997) and concluding part, The Amber Spyglass (2000). The Amber Spyglass received the Whitbread Book of the Year Award - the first time in the history of that prize given to a children's book.

Featured Author: Phillip Thomas Duck shares his passion for writing romantic stories

2011-04-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

I FOUND MY NEXT FEATURED AUTHOR THRU GOODREADS WEBSITE. His name is Phillip Thomas Duck who is also an active member of my newly created Facebook Group page: Amazon Kindle/Ebook readers that provides information on free ebook downloads from various websites (aside from Amazon). I already read his sexy short stories collection, One Quick Kiss and the first offering of his romantic suspense series, Excuse Me, Miss to get to know his writing style and characters.

Phillip is happy to be part of my blogsite and shares his passion for writing romantic stories. Despite his hectic schedule and deadline, he was able to answers some of the queries that I asked him which might serve as inspiration to us readers and aspiring writers worldwide. And of course, Im hoping that we include his ebook novellas in our reading list.

1. How long does it take you to write a book? It generally takes me about four months to write a decent draft of a full-length novel. Then I embark on the task of rewriting and revising. My favorite part of writing is actually this second phase, when a novel comes into shape and is no longer just a big hunk of clay.

2. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? I’ve heard other writers say that they couldn’t start writing until they have a title, and I fall in the same category. My biggest quirk, however, would probably be my insistence that words line up nicely on the page. I can’t stand paragraphs that don’t fit into a nice box shape.

3. What do you like to do when you're not writing? Listening to music. Watching the NBA or NFL. Playing with my daughter. Reading a good book.

4. What does your family think of your writing? Hemingway who? I’m the greatest writer the world has ever known.

5. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books? That sometimes the characters would stop listening to me and do their own thing. Now, I’ve come to appreciate it when that happens, because it means the story is truly turning into something creative.

6.How many books have you written? Which is your favorite? Six published traditionally, with a seventh due out in August. Three independently published novellas. They’re all my children, I can’t pick a favorite. I poured my heart and soul into the writing of each one.

7. Do you have any suggestions to help someone become a better writer? If so, what are they? Read a lot. Make sure Sol Stein’s books on writing are a part of their library. Write everyday. Follow their heart and not the trends of the moment. Make the writing sensual. I have a note above my keyboard reminding me to include all of the senses in my writing.

8. What do you think makes a good story? Every great story is driven by characters a reader can care about, and the thwarting of that character’s wants, needs, and desires. That’s the classic story.

9. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? Score 50 points against Michael Jordan. But I stopped growing at a shade over six feet tall and my knees wouldn’t cooperate.

10. Who is your favourite author (s)? I love the crime fiction genre above all else so my favorite writers are primarily of that ilk. George Pelecanos, Daniel Woodrell, James Lee Burke, Lee Child, Walter Mosley, Jonathan Kellerman and on and on.

Phillip's newly published ebook, Distracted is out now and available in Amazon and Smashwords, including his previous novellas and short stories at very reasonable prices. My reviews for his ebooks will be posted here in my blogsite very soon, so watch out for that as well. Again, thank you very much Phillip for sharing your writing experiences to us and we look forward to your next ebooks.

BookFace: Amazon Freebies on Business and Environment

2011-04-14T11:29:00.001-07:00

BOTH OF AMAZON.COM AND AMAZON.CO.UK offer these ebooks free for download at a limited period. Hurry up, check it out and you can still be able to read them thru your computers using Whispersync - reader for Amazon ebooks.

Note: If the links of these ebooks are directed to Amazon.co.uk, you can also search the titles using Amazon.com. These options allow you to download these ebooks depending in your location and for some they vary on the kindle registration. For example, my kindle is still registered in the US, so I use the Amazon.com to transfer these freebies, eventhough that I currently live in the UK.

Book Catcher Series Five: courtesy of The Works (Britain's discount store)

2011-04-13T20:01:00.000-07:00

THE WORKS IS ONE OF MY FAV BOOKSHOPS IN BELFAST. It offers a variety of publications and school supplies. Visiting this bookshop is already part of my regular window shopping at the city centre. Hardcovers are always expensive compare to paperback copies. However, this shop offers cheaper prices for both copies. Believe it or not, my recent catch from the store is hardcopies of the following books: The Jesus Papers - Esposing the Greatest Cover-up in History (Michael Baigent), and JFK In Ireland - Four Days that Changed a President (Ryan Tubridy) for 2.99 and 3.99 sterling pounds, respectively. Baigent is the co-author of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, while Tubridy is an award-winning broadcaster in Ireland and currently the presenter of the world's longest running chat show, The Late Late Show.

Briefly, Baigent's book takes the reader step by step through explosive new evidence that challenges everything we know about the life and death of Jesus Christ. While Tubridy's book captures the time that the late US President Kennedy (the first Irish Catholic American US President) is visiting the Republic of Ireland in June 1963.

WBN 2011 Read-Release Challenge Part 2

2011-04-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

I STARTED THIS PERSONAL CHALLENGE in March after the World Book Night launched on 5 March 2011. This is a commitment to read and release books every month. My first release was the book written by Candy Gourlay, Tall Story and a reader from the Philippines won the two paperback copies of Tall Story with an inclusion of a bookplate. For details, CLICK HERE.The releases are recorded using BookCrossing ten-digit tracking system.

For this month of April 2011, Im releasing one of the short stories' collections of Jeffrey Archer, entitled Cat O'Nine Tales. It is a hardcover which contains 12 stories, including drawings by Ronald Searle. The difference for this month's release is that I personally given this book as a bday present to a friend from Nigeria who just started her PhD programme at my university in Northern Ireland. Since it is a gift, my friend can keep it or she can release or pass it to her friends.

Note: Jeffrey Archer is one of my fav British authors. I really enjoyed these short stories which reminded me that MONEY is the root of all evils but it also serves as an inspiration for people to change their lives for the better. Majority of these stories were came to Jeff during his two years imprisonment. My review will follow very soon!

C.S. Lewis: the magical world of Narnia

2011-04-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

The Linen Hall Library (Belfast) organised an exhibition that featured the popular Irish novelist, C.S. Lewis who created the magical world of Narnia. With my personal fascination of Lewis' writings, I have already collected most of his stories and visited some of the Belfast landmarks, including the place that inspired Lewis to write about Narnia - the Mountains of Mourne. I climbed the mountains in two separate occasions!
The exhibition also taught me some basic facts about C.S Lewis books. I learned the suggested sequence in reading his Narnia series as follows: (1) The Magicians Nephew - 1955, (2) The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - 1950, (3) The Horse and his Boy - 1954, (4) Prince Caspian - 1951, (5) The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - 1952, (6) The Silver Chair - 1953, (7) The Last Battle - 1956. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is the first published story of the seven Chronicles of Narnia, and then followed by Prince Caspian. The Magicians Nephew should be read first for you to understand the creation of Narnia - how Lewis started the fascinating characters and other things (like wardrobe) in the chronicles.

Note: Click the images and you will be directed to the podcast, or HERE of the talk/lecture series about the life and writings of Lewis and to find out more of the symbolism and iconography of Narnia.

BookFaces from the Book Depository: My first online purchase

2011-04-09T04:54:00.000-07:00

WHEN I FOUND OUT THAT THE BOOK DEPOSITORY is offering free delivery any where in the world, without a second thought I placed my first order online. But why children's books written by Morris Gleitzman? It is a long story but... seven years ago, I lived in Brisbane, Australia as part of my postgrad program and this was the time that my passion for books started.

For two years, I collected different books - from fantasy to children's books with authors that are unknown to me. At that time, I was collecting and reading books not based on bestseller's status, but guided by films or friends' recommendation. Surprisingly, I collected books that required me to send 6 balikbayan boxes to Manila for door-door delivery. Until now, these books are still kept inside the boxes - waiting for me to release them and maybe they are excited to feel the fresh air and some touches from dust!

Since I was busy with a research project at the university, I concentrated on children's books which are more manageable to read and less time consuming to finish the books. And this the reason why I was captivated with Morris Glietzman's stories and introduced the adventures of Limpy, the toad... I loved his Limpy and Goliath tandem stories - from Toad Heaven to Toad Rage!

Then few weeks ago, I decided to buy Gleitzman books from the Book Depository - a trilogy (Once, Then and Now). Once and Then are previously published separately but the latest edition contained both of them. With excitement, I immediately read them all in a matter of less than a week... I finished reading Now few hours ago!

Synopsis (from GoodReads) : (THEN and ONCE) That's the good thing with stories. There's always a chance they can come true. Felix is lucky. Unlike the other children in the orphanage, he's certain his parents will come back for him one day. And whatever the Nazis do and however many books they burn, Felix's imagination provides him and his companions with an endless supply of stories - stories that protect them when they're on the run, shield them from the violent madness all around, give them hope when all seems lost, and one day may even save Felix's life. (NOW) Morris Gleitzman's acclaimed story of friends Felix and Zelda in Nazi-occupied Poland has captured the hearts and minds of readers worldwide. In "Now", he delivers the final chapter, bringing this most moving of stories into the present day.

Featured Author: Candy Gourlay - the author behind the success of Tall Story

2011-03-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

I AM VERY FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO INTERVIEW SOME OF THE PROMISING AUTHORS for my blogsite and indeed a nice feeling when they have a Filipino lineage like my next featured writer. CANDY GOURLAY is the author of Tall Story - a children book released in Great Britain in 2010 and got numerous international award nominations. I also chose the book as my first Read-Release World Challenge giveaway. CLICK HERE for my review which was dedicated to all the people affected by the earthquake/tsunami that struck Japan on the 11th March 2011.

I havent met Candy in person but hopefully we will meet before I go home to Manila in May. So, expect some snapshots of Candy and myself, including some updates from her forthcoming novel. Without further a do, here she is, Candy answering my few questions and to get know her. Find out more about her inspirations to write Tall Story - an amazing story that tells about Bernardo, an eight-foot tall lad.

1. When and why did you begin writing? I wanted to become a writer from the I realized that reading was cool - I was about six and the long hot summer stretched out ahead of me. My grandmother had a complete collection of a 1930s serial called the Beverley Gray Mysteries. I picked one up and realized that the words made paragraphs and the paragraphs made chapters and before you knew it, I had finished the book. I read every single book in her series that summer! Beverley Gray was a reporter who was desperate to get published as a novelist. So by the time I finished the book, I wanted to do exactly the same!

2. Who has influenced your writing? My mother aspired to become a writer when she was a teenager and as we were growing up, she often talked with great fondness about her time on her high school literary magazine and she would read to me from Horacio de la Costa's Like the Molave ("Gods walk on brown legs"). She used to buy any Filipiniana children's fiction there was and my greatest treat as a child was a trip to Erehwon bookstore in Makati. So I think it was my mother who encouraged me to think of myself as a writer.As for writing itself, in terms of technique, I read enormously but there are two authors that I carry around with me when I'm writing in cafes. I don't know why but when I dip into their books, I feel enabled to write! One is Geraldine McCaughrean who wrote the White Darkness and the other is Ray Bradbury.

3. Who is your favourite author? What a difficult question. I have a different favourite author every few months! As a child, my favourite author was Louisa May Alcott who wrote the Little Women books - but this was because I wanted to be of her characters (Jo, the writer). When I read Little Women now I wonder how I managed to get through it - the language was so archaic. As a child I also loved Samuel Clemens (The Prince and the Pauper). It was after I read Holes by Louis Sachar that I became really serious about becoming an author.

4. Why did you pick your setting for debut novel, Tall Story? Tall Story is set in the Philippines and in London. One of the reasons I did this was because I wanted to write a book for my children who have grown up in both settings. The Newbery winning author Richard Peck once said if a child can't find himself in the pages of a book, he will go looking for himself in all the wrong places. My kids will certainly find themselves in Tall Story.

5. How long did it take you to write this book? It took me ten months!

6. If you are recommending your book to a friend - how would you describe it? It's about a brother and sister getting to know each other after years of being separated by immigration paperwork, only to find that they still have to cross a gulf created by language, culture and calamity.

TALL STORY Book Trailer from Candy Gourlay on Vimeo.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING MY FEATURED AUTHOR which I'm sure that one or two or even more will be inspired by your writings and hopefully be able to grab a copy of your bestselling book, Tall Story. Good luck and hope to see you soon in London!

Note: For more info about Candy, CLICK HERE for her Facebook FanPage, and HERE for her own blogsite. Or you can even click the photo above for you to be directed to her blogsite. If you are interested to find out who is my first featured author, (who happened to be the author of the two unpublished ebooks), CLICK HERE.

Book Catcher 2011 Series Four courtesy of BookCrossing Meet-up

2011-03-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

IM A MEMBER OF BOOKCROSSING NORTHERN IRELAND(BCNI) Book Club, unfortunately, I dont have time to attend the monthly meeting. But this month I was able to catch up with the group inside a bar in Belfast. As usual, every member brought their own books to swap with others, and for my share, I brought the remaining copies of Sarah Waters' novel, Fingersmith that I've also distributed during the World Book Night (WBN) last 05 March 2011.

At the end of the meet-up, I brought home three books: A Life Like Other People's (Alan Bennett), Memoir of Geisha (Arthur Golden), and Beatrice and Virgil (Yann Martel). Bennett's book is included in the WBN 25 book titles and one of the members of the club swapped with my book, Fingersmith. Geisha was published in 1997 and became a major motion picture, while Beatrice and Virgil was published in 2010 with the same author of the winner of the Man Book Prize, Life of Pi.

BookFace: Academic ebooks for a grab

2011-03-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

ACADEMIC TEXTBOOKS ARE VERY EXPENSIVE since I was in college/uni taking-up a Civil Engineering degree a long time ago! It was a frustrating experience when the professors/lecturers were using textbooks that dont have much copies available in the library. Indeed, it was an annoying feeling to reserve the books and waiting for other students returned the copies, at the same time catching up with numerous project/research work deadlines.

Students nowadays are more luckier considering that majority of course/module handouts are given-out by the lecturers and more reference books are readily available in the library. Of course, with internet/online connection, it is much easier and manageable to do further readings or to do the assignments.

With the introduction of e-reading devices (like the Amazon Kindle), some of these academic books are now accessible to everyone - free of charge. I chose some of them (as shown above) that I think more helpful for students and teachers or even for those people (like me) who want to review some of the basic theories in geometry, trigonometry, earth science and chemistry.

NOTE: These ebooks are freebies in Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk for both UK and US regions at the time of posting. It might NOT be free in other regions but normally available for discounted prices.

Emma Donoghue...speaks about her novel Room at GoodReads

2011-03-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

THE NOVEL, 'ROOM' IS THE WINNER of the 2010 Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction. The author, Emma Donoghue is answering questions about the book - a gripping story of a mother and son held captive in an 11x11 foot space. Goodreads set-up a GROUP which allows members to have a direct communication with the author herself from 21-25 March 2011. I posted my own personal question about the settings of Room. I asked:
Ive read your brief interview's responses featured by British Channel 4 - The TV Book Club 2011. You mentioned that you somehow based Room's setting from Fritzl case in Austria. Personally, I thought you based it from the American girl, Jaycee Lee Dugard being captive for 18 years. After her disappearance at age 11, her story became a world-wide sensation in August 2009. Im sure you're aware of her story. Did you every try to get some settings from her story?
Then Emma replied:
I know ROOM might sound more like the Dugard case, but she was only discovered after the novel was written and with my agent. One main difference between the storyline of ROOM and almost all the well-known kidnapping cases is that, at 19, Ma is an adult when she is captured.
I also noted some interesting questions and responses from the group discussions which I feel relevant to share with other readers of Room or could somehow persuade others to grab a copy of the book. Here some of the Q&As about Room or you can visit the group: CLICK HERE. Q1: I wonder though did you ever think of putting another character(s) like siblings of Jack perhaps inside Room?" Emma: Interesting question. No, I agree that the family dynamics with more than one sibling could be fascinating, but I wanted the situation in ROOM to have a stark simplicity: one mother, one child, one villain. The strangest thing about Room is that Jack has never had to share his mother's love or attention with anyone at all. Q2: I was just wondering where Jack picked up his individual way of speaking from, seeing as the only influences on his speech patterns before leaving Room would have been from Ma, People on the Television, and Old Nick. Emma: In my experience, kids put together a unique package of language based on what they hear, how they see things, and the universals of kid grammar; they don't end up sounding like either Dad or Spongebob Squarepants. Q3: I was very surprised when it turned out that the story was set in the USA. Many expressions, especially those by Ma and her mother sounded British (or Canadian) rather than American... Emma: I wanted it be set in America so that the country Ma and Jack emerge into would be one with a strong sense of itself as everyone's happy ending - land of freedom and prosperity, etc. Ma's not an immigrant, it's just that - despite the best efforts of my publishers' copyeditors! - I'm afraid some of my phrasing is not standard American. As for the title 'Ma', I just didn't want the typical modern American one of 'Mom', as Ma and Jack are such outsiders, so I went for one (Ma) that I associate with nineteenth-century America (Little House on the Prairie, anyone?). In Ireland we say Mammy, Mum, Ma or (increasingly) Mom. Q4: Why was Ma adopted? What relevance does that add to the story?" Emma: Oh, this is a touchy one, isn't it? People have such strong and clashing views on adoption. I see it as normal, myself, having many friends who have either been adopted or have adopted. I'm the birth mother in my own family, so my partner is technically/legally an adoptive mother, and perhaps that shapes her bond with the kids in some ways but it doesn't make it any less powerful. Well, anyway, for what it's worth, here are some reasons I made Ma adopted:(a) I knew readers would be longing for her to get back to the normal world, the happy-nuclear-family world, and when it finally happens I wanted her family to have a realistic modern feel. Having the parents split up was one way of doing that (especially since so many couples do break up when a child goes missing) and having her be adopted was another. (b) Because in Room it might seem like her and Jack's closeness grows out of their birth bond, I wanted to show that birth is not the only way for such motherlove to happen.(c) I liked the notion of Ma's unseen birth mother as someone haunting the novel, a parallel for Ma, a young woman under unidentified pressures who makes the very different decision to give her child up. FINALLY, EMMA REVEALED THAT SHE received numerous offers for a film adaptation of Room but to date, nothing formalised yet. Personally, this is something to look forward to especially the on-screen characterisation of Jack. I've also learned that the audio version of the book is available and it got excellent reviews too.

NOTE: If you are interested to read my review, please CLICK HERE and for additional information about Emma's public/speaking engagements, CLICK HERE. The short video clip (as shown above) created by Hachette Book Group is quite an effective way to increase the marketability of the book.

My life in books...

2011-03-18T04:44:00.000-07:00

I VISITED MY FAVOURITE BOOKSTORE YESTERDAY after watching the parade at Belfast city centre in celebration of St Patrick's Day in Northern Ireland. Having a quick chat with the owner (he's very kind), and again I explored his shop - dreaming that someday I will have a mini-library as big as this secondhand bookshop!

While moving slowly along the narrow spaces between the shelves, I could feel that these books are inviting me - to touch them and bring them home. I wish I could bring them all, but I only got three books, including John Boyne's fable, The Boy in the Sriped Pyjamas. I did not know that the author is an Irish until I watched the film (with the same title) few days ago. It is a brilliant adaptation and I thought that the book is an excellent read not to be missed. So, having the book in mind, I immediately asked the owner of the shop, if he has copies of it. Well, I was surprised that he stood up and within few seconds of scanning in the shelf, he got it - 214 pages/2007 edition!

My life in books is getting exciting...even inspired to write another short story. By the way, I've written my first story (in Filipino/Tagalog language) entitled, Loto (Lotto). Unfortunately, the electronic version was missing in my laptop, so I need to type it again in few weeks time, so watch out for that! To find more, CLICK HERE.

BookFace: In celebrating St Patrick's Day

2011-03-16T08:18:00.000-07:00

IT IS VERY RARE TO FIND A FREE EBOOK FROM AMAZON WEBSITE WHEN YOU ARE living in developing countries especially in Asia and the Pacific region. Excluding the classics, majority of free ebooks offered for a limited period are only accessible to UK, US, Canada and Australia residents both in Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk sites.

But few hours ago, I found out that this book is also free for download in Asia and the Pacific region. It might be a good read in time for St. Patrick's Day celebration around the world on the 17th March (that's tomorrow).

Synopsis: Forget about shamrocks, leprechauns, and all that blarney, 101 Things You Didn't Know About Irish History dispels the myths and tells the true stories of the Irish. Inside, you'll learn about about: Lives of the ancient Celts until the British invasions; Famous Irish including Michael Collins, Charles Parnell-and Bono!; The Potato Famine and Immigration (were there really gangs of New York?); Irish music and dance; Folklore, faeries, and leprechauns. Complete with an Irish language primer and pronunciation guide, 101 Things You Didn't Know About Irish History is an informative reference for anyone who loves the Irish! The author is Thomas Turner, Ph.D., a professor of history at Bridgewater State College, in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. The ebook contains 256 pages. (Source - Amazon website).

Note: Ebooks from Amazon website are not only compatable with Kindle reading gadgets but also suitable for laptops/computers and mobile devices (iphones, iPad). For additional information, CLICK HERE on how to download the free ebook reading application. Beware that this ebook may not be free for a long time, but it is free from the time of posting of this journal.

Belfast remembers Dickens...

2011-03-15T08:52:00.000-07:00

FEW WEEKS AGO, I VISITED LINEN HALL LIBRARY (Belfast) to look at the exhibitions on Charles Dickens' Literary life. It was a delight to see all Dickens first, rare and limited edition of his books, including photographs, a commemorative postage-stamp, and decorative plates featuring scenes from A Christmas Carol. I also learned that this Victorian England's greatest novelist visited Belfast in three occasions: 1858, 1867 and 1869 when he gave public readings of his work. He even described Belfast as "tremendous houses there. Curious people, too. They seem all Scotch, but quite in a state of transition." My fascination with Dickens' stories started when I read A Christmas Carol last Dec 2010 after downloading a free ebook version of the book from Manybooks.net. I also got an old hardbound book (1983) from a charity shop containing three of his popular stories: A Christmas Carol (1843), Oliver Twist (1837), and Great Expectations (1859). If you are interested to read my review about Scrooge life in A Christmas Carol, CLICK HERE. I will post a long version review about this novel very soon.

Book Catcher 2011 Series Three courtesy of Waterstone's Bookshop

2011-03-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

A WEEK BEFORE THE WORLD BOOK NIGHT LAUNCHING, I grabbed some of the discounted offers (3 for 2 deals) from Waterstone's Penguin mini modern classics collection. After an hour of browsing, I finally decided to purchase Shirley Jackson's Tooth, Premo Levi's The Magic Paint, and Rudyard Kipling's They, including the complete list of all the titles in print across the Modern Classics publication - from Chinua Achebe to Stefan Zweig with inspiring essay from Italo Calvino. These three mini publications contain short 3-5 short stories. Overall, these stories have unexpected and unpredictable endings!

Note: A short review for each mini book will be posted very soon...

Miracles happen every day...let us pray for earthquake/tsunami victims

2011-03-11T12:32:00.000-08:00

THIS BOOK REVIEW IS DIFFERENT FROM the rest of my previous reviews. Honestly, I don't intend to write this review very soon but today is very important for us to offer our prayers and support (in any means) to people who are currently affected by a 8.9 magnitude earthquake (that created tsunamis/surges) in Japan (coast of Sendai City) and for those people in Christchurch (New Zealand) that suffered the same fate few weeks ago. With this journal, it is my simple way to extend my concern which could also remind people to be vigilant in times of calamities. What a coincidence that Candy Gourlay's debut novel has something to do with the human spirit when unexpected natural disasters strike. It tackles issues related to cultural indifferences, sibling relationship, belongingness (peers acceptance), and friendship. The story evolves in the personal life and family of Bernardo - a young lad, who lives in one of the towns of Metro Manila with unusual height of 8-foot tall - still growing; but for his neighbours/townmates he is a hero who has the power to stop earthquakes. Trying to live-up with the community expectation and his "humongous" structure, Bernardo (Nardo) also struggles to be just a normal kid and hoping that he finally visit his mother's family in London. On the other hand, the book also brings the life of Andi, the half-sister of Nardo who loves to play basketball! Ultimately, these young siblings meet-up and interactions are the main ingredients of the novel. The book is categorised as a children's story, but honestly, there are underlying messages that the author would like to convey, not only for those kids who love to play basketball, who believe in myths/tales, but also for adults (like me) being captivated by Filipino hero characters (like Bernardo Carpio, Darna, Ang Panday, and many others) and supertitious beliefs. And most importantly, the story rekindles the human spirit, hope, faith and courage - having them could bring miracles in our lives, especially in time of calamities and family problems. In particular, the story also provides a glimpse of Filipino culture like: the struggles among Filipinos working abroad (aka OFWs) to bring a bright future for their families left back in the Philippines. On the lighter side of it, the author shows the comical side in the lives of Bernardo and Andi with their loved ones and friends. Cultural differences and individual expectation among siblings also bring sense of humor and entertainment in the story.

"So many years I wear rubber slippers or sandals because no shoes fitting me. Timbuktu sandals good but London very too cold to have bare toes." - Nardo

After reading this book, it allows me to reflect on issues relating to natural disaster preparedness, culture shock (living, working, studying overseas) and immigration issues. It reminded me of my personal experience during the 1990 (16 July) earthquake that struck the Philippines with a magnitude of 7.8 (epicenter). I dont know but it was a death-threatening moment trying to hide myself under the office table as the whole building moved furiously. Another important highlight of the story is about the eagerness of Filipinos to work abroad. As poverty haunts them back in the Philippines, they work hard only to send remittances to their families. Referrred as Overseas Filipinos Workers (aka OFWs), they have the same fate that Nardo's has, struggling to be heroes - helping their loved ones back home despite the hardships of living/working abroad! The author is clever enough to bring some of the Filipino way of living: giving a name to a child (using best friend's name, a syllable combination from parents' name, using grandparents' name, or father name - becomes Junior/Jr). I was surprised that the author did not use "Junior" (aka Jr) for Bernardo's nickname since his first name is derived from his late father's name. Moreover, I thought that the issue on immigration is a bit outdated and doubtful considering that Bernardo's petition took a long time to process. I assumed that the parents asked a solicitor's assistance to expedite the process which was not explicitly explained in the story. Another minor situation presented in the book that I disagree is Bernardo's arrival to London, a week after his immigration papers was approved by the Home Office. Obtaining a passport, visa and plane ticket need a substantial amount of money, and with the current financial status of Nardo's parents (just bought a house) could probably requires a longer time for him to fly to London. Unless his Aunt Sofia and Uncle have savings to cover the expenses.
"And the truth is, even though I didn't know him, I have missed him just as much as he has missed me" - Amandolina aka Andi
Finally, using a best friend's name for her daughter is also unusual (not common but the name itself might came from the friend parents: Amando and Lina) Filipino custom - mostly parents mix-up with their own first names to come-up with a name like my sister got (without her consent and hated it...hahaha) - Rodyma, a combination of the first syllables of my parents' name: Rodolfo (Rudy) and Magdalena! Or another example that might give you a smile - Luzviminda, derived from the three major island groups of the Philippines - Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Overall, this is a captivating story that brings hope to everyone - having a positive outlook in life. And of course, the power of prayers that could bring miracles in our lives...God Bless every one! Note: Tall Story has been shortlisted in the following British book awards: Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize, Blue Peter Favourite Story Prize, the Leeds Children’s Book Prize and the Hillingdon Secondary School Book Prize, Branford Boase, the Redbridge Children’s Book Award, the UKLA Book Award and the Carnegie Medal. The book is now available in the US since February 08, 2011.

Im happy to give away two paperback copies of the book (maybe signed by the author). If you are interested to join my Read-Release Global Challenge 2011, CLICK HERE. Deadline: 15 March 2011 (midnite)

For updates on Japan's earthquake/tsunami, the British Foreign Office can be contacted for advice on 020 7008 0000, or from Japan on +44 20 7008 0000 +44 20 7008 0000, and can be emailed on japan.earthquake@fco.gov.uk.

World Book Night 2011 Givers Global Challenge: My first giveaway/release

2011-03-07T14:01:00.000-08:00

WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT TO BE CHOSEN as one of the bookgivers of the 2011 World Book Night held in the UK on 5 March 2011. In my previous journals/posts, I mentioned that I created/initiated a group challenge thru WBN website entitled, WBN 2011 Givers Global Challenge which aims to encourage bookgivers to share a dozen of books (or more) every year (at least one book per month).

This challenge is an independent activity but somehow support WBN (UK) mission to distribute books every year. The WBN organiser selected 20,000 givers during the launching and printed 1,000,000 copies of 25 titles.

On a personal level, to support this worldwide campaign and for this month (March) I am giving out "new paperback copies" of TALL STORY written by Candy Gourlay. Candy is a Filipino by birth and this book is about the story of Bernardo who happens to be an eight-foot tall lad and lives with his relatives in one of the towns in Metro Manila. His neighbours believe that he is a hero and saves the town from the earthquakes. The story is not only for young readers but also for those who have young hearts and for those who believe in miracles.

MECHANICS/TERMS/CONDITIONS. To get this free book, just do the following:

1. Join in the World Book Night or BookCrossing. This is optional at the moment, but winners are obliged to register the books with BookCrossing.

2. Write a comment in this post, with information about your first name, location (country), website (if you have). Only the winners will be asked for the complete mailing address.

3. Read the book, write a journal (in BookCrossing), and pass/release it. Winners have to share the books with friends and family.

4. You have only one (1) month (maximum period) to read the book upon receipt from post.

5. The book recipient will be chosen by lottery.

6. Unfortunately, not all countries will qualify for this giveaways. This is the reason why you have to specify your country of residence. Participants from UK, Europe, US, Australia including some part of Asia (Philippines, Hongkong, Malaysia, Singapore, etc.) are ELIGIBLE TO JOIN

7. Entries (thru your comments) will be accepted until 15 March 2011 (midnite). This is extended until 20th March 2011. Of course, you can still write your comments after midnite but it will not be counted for the giveaways.

UPDATES: (11/03/2011) Tall Story has been shortlisted in the following British book awards: Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize, Blue Peter Favourite Story Prize, the Leeds Children’s Book Prize and the Hillingdon Secondary School Book Prize, Branford Boase, the Redbridge Children’s Book Award, the UKLA Book Award and the Carnegie Medal. The book is now available in the US since February 08, 2011.

Why Tall Story? Ive heard about the book launching last year at the Philippine Embassy (London) thru a friend who happens to work in the embassy. I bought the book at Waterstone's Belfast on the 3rd March 2011 and finished reading it on the day of the WBN 2011 launching (05 March). I thought that this story should be shared to others thru this read-release challenge. The author recently expressed her gratitude for choosing her debut novel and also announced my giveaway challenge in her Facebook fanpage.

Finally, this free book giveaway challenge is not part of the World Book Night 2011 launched on the 5th March 2011 but a personal commitment to support WBN project. In addition, I did not get any endorsement from the author or publisher, and this is solely my personal offer.

Book Catcher 2011 Series Two courtesy of World Book Night

2011-03-06T13:47:00.000-08:00

IN CELEBRATION OF WORLD BOOK NIGHT (WBN) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Waterstone's Bookshop (Fountain Street) organised an event for talk/book signing, including a book quiz - Book Hunt. A refresment was served as well.

Since Im one of the WBN givers, I had took the opportunity to distribute copies of Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. It was a surprise for me to have my own small table to display the books and easier for guests to grab a copy.

In relation to the talk/book signing, there were two local Irish writers/authors invited for the event, Tim Brannigan and Alf McCreary. Both of the writers spoke about the inception/excerpts of their books, Where are you really from? and Titanic Port, respectively. It was a hearthwarming but funny chat from Tim, who wrote his own personal experience - a memoir of an adopted child by his own biological mother! Well, I cant stop myself not to get a copy and asked him to sign...This is a rare opportunity to meet indie authors like Tim and of course, be able to read his book that got an initial offer to make into a film/movie production.

Aside from Tim's memoir book, I also met some WBN givers and swapped books with them: Dissolution (C.J. Sansom) from Damian and A Time Balance (Rohinton Mistry) from Clare. Expect that these two books will travel a long way!

Note: If you want to join the WBN 2011 Givers Global Challenge, please click HERE or you can visit its FACEBOOK PAGE.

World Book Night 2011 Givers (Read-Release) Global Challenge

2011-03-05T16:36:00.000-08:00

WHEN I READ THE EMAIL SENT BY Jamie Byng (Chair, WBN) on the day of the World Book Night 2011, two things lingered in my mind. First, the achievement for being part of the project and secondly, what I can do next after giving my 48 books. Jamie says that "WBN has been fuelled by a huge amount of goodwill and a profound love of books and a belief in the importance of reading." He adds that this is because of PATIENCE AND PASSION displayed by WBN givers since the application started in December 2010. As givers, our patience and passion for books could be the key to sustain this project, not only here in the UK region but hopefully around the world. This undertaking is borderless, no boundaries, and importantly it crosses cultures and encourages every one to be generous thru book sharing/giving. Having said that, I would like to invite every member and (non-member) to participate or do something that you think contribute to achieve this Givers Challenge. Generally, WORLD BOOK NIGHT 2011 GIVERS CHALLENGE is quite similar to our individual commitment to read a number of books a year. Thus, we can set a number of books to be shared or released elsewhere. Initially, for this WBN 2011 Givers Challenge we can do possible commitments: We can target 12 books to read per year, consequently, pass it on or give it to someone; OR we can target more than that, including books that we havent read! The ultimate goal is to GIVE A DOZEN OF BOOKS A YEAR. We can register these 12 books in WBN and BookCrossing and make a journal each of this book stating that this is part of your WBN 2011 Givers Challenge. You can even create your own blogsite/website as part of this challenge. Be inspired... "No reason at all not to READ and SHARE or GIVE a book..."

CLICK HERE TO TAKE PART...THANKS AND GOOD LUCK

World Book Night 2011: Im one of the bookgivers

2011-03-02T06:19:00.000-08:00

"A million reasons to read

(and share or give) a book..."

This is one of the 25 books to be distributed on the 5th March 2011 during the World Book Night celebration in United Kingdom. Im fortunate to be one of the book-givers and distributing 48 copies of Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.

About the Project: World Book Night is a celebration of great writing and the power of books and the pleasures of reading. This book is one of 40,000 copies printed of each of the 25 brilliant titles selected for World Book Night 2011. That's 1,000,000 books to be read and enjoyed and then shared. Be part of the reading revolution.

About the Book: London 1862. Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth, grows up among petty thieves - fingersmiths - under the rough but loving care of Mrs Sucksby and her "family". But for the moment she draws breath, Sue's fate is linked to that of another orphan growing up in a gloomy mansion not too many miles away.

For additional information, click the link: World Book Night 2011

(Inside Waterstone's bookshop, Belfast)

BookFaces in Postcard: A brilliant idea from Penguin Classics

2011-02-27T07:32:00.000-08:00

"Sometimes, you definitely should judge a book by its cover" - Penguin Classics

THIS SMALL BOX (4"x 6") DOES NOT CONTAINS books but what inside became part of the books. I called them "bookfaces" or commonly known as bookcovers in a postcard size! A hundred postcards that bears interesting graphics and facts about front covers of classic books. If you love books, then this is worth keeping or sharing to someone who has the passion for books.

Note: I bought two boxes and the 100 postcards will be given as regular giveaways to my readers in the future's competitions. Details will be posted very soon, so watch out for that and who knows you will be one of the lucky winners to get these Penguin postcards (at least 2 pieces per competition).

The first bite isnt good enough to follow Nessy's coven

2011-02-24T13:29:00.000-08:00

THIS IS MY FIRST FREE SOFTCOPY from GoodReads giveaways. This is also my first read about vampire lives. Initially, I got excited about having it for free with the condition of writing a review for it. I dont expect a grandeur plot considering this is a sequel of Bowler's novel, Moon Rising. But I am still hoping that Sunrise to Sunset will stand as its own merit to provide us the continuing saga of Nessy's new life: half-Gulon-half-vampire adventures.

After awaken from unconsciousness, Nessy realizes that she could not remember anything about herself. With the help of her cousin, Hera and boyfriend Charles, she managed to regain her strength and memory, consequently discovered her identity. Her past life is recurring and blends with her present life as recounted by herself. With the new role in the communities of covens and Gulons, she confides that taking responsibilities in the protection of these different conflicting groups of the underworld is causing chaos and even brings bewilderment about her future. Then again, she also enjoying this acquired “dual” identity - exploring what her DNA is leading to, even it will risk her own life.

The story is different from the normal vampire love story. It deviated from the traditional type of the underworld battles between blooding-sucking vampires and werewolves. And for me, this is something original, however, there are few things that I am bit disappointed as the way the story was written.

Firstly, even though this is a stand-alone novel, a “prologue” seems necessary to allow readers (who haven’t read Moon Rising) understand the premise of Nessy’s adventures – highlighting some of the significant events that lead to the Sunrise to Sunset’s plot. Secondly, having it in a “first-person” narration/dialogue, the author deprived her readers to fully acquaint with other main characters like Hera and Charles. It is like I am reading a ”autobiography” of Nessy or a "memoir" of a vampire! Finally, there are few typo/grammatical errors that need editing/proofreading, including repetitive descriptions and dialogues as well as inconsistencies in time setting towards the end of the book. For instance, one chapter describes the sun is rising and suddenly the next/succeeding chapter is already night time.

DESPITE THESE minor discrepancies, the author brings very relevant and important lessons to be learned that we could relate to our real lives. Some of them are something to do with companionship, leadership, friendship, love, trust, loyalty, confidence and risk-taking. Being a leader does not only mean taking authority and power, but it also allowing ourselves to listen from our peers and act not for our own glory/gratification but for the welfare of the many. Building relationships and connections requires personal commitment and hardworks, and not an overnight affair.

"Our ways were beyond the marital boundaries that existed for humans. Our love for the chosen mate was like an elastic band, no matter how much it stretched, or was twisted, it would always remain" - Nessy

BookFaces in Red: Save lives courtesy of Penguin Classics - Set One

2011-02-22T11:35:00.000-08:00

PENGUIN CLASSICS (UK) HAS PUBLISHED a selection

of classic stories that aims to help eliminate AIDS in Africa.

Having RED as the theme color, for every purchase of this new edition,

50 percent of the sales profit will be donated to the Global Fund.

Books Featured are as follows ( from top to bottom):Sons and Lovers (D H Lawrence), Silas Marner (George Eliot)Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte), Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)Vanity Fair (William Thackeray), Kidnapped (Robert Louis Stevenson)The Lady with the Little Dog (Antun Chekhov), andSentimental Education (Gustave Flaubert).
Some of these Penguin Classics bookfaces are links to the designers' interviews and others directed to the individual synopsis of the story.

Clicking the title of the post will automatically link to Penguin Classics Red Project.

Books Catcher 2011 Series 1 courtesy of HMV (UK)

2011-02-21T09:22:00.000-08:00

HMV IS A UK-BASED MUSIC store/shop but few years ago it started selling books and ereading devices. The store is the leading distributor of records - from CDs to DVDs formats, including films and video games. HMV price tags for books are cheaper (free delivery for online purchases) than other bookshops like Waterstones or WHSmith.

What a coincidence that I grabbed two novels at 2 sterling pounds (originally tagged at 7.99 sterling pounds) written by authors sharing the same first name. Sarah Waters' The Night Watch was shortlisted for The Man Booker and The Orange Prize, while Sarah Dunant's Sacred Hearts was included in the 2010's The TV BookClub Best Read organized by UK TV Channel 4.

Note: I am one of the book givers of Sarah Waters' third novel entitled, Fingersmith and the book will be distributed on the 5th March 2011 in Belfast, Northern Ireland being organized by World Book Night.

BookFace: Free ebooks for downloads in Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

2011-02-19T14:21:00.001-08:00

ANOTHER TWO EBOOKS for free downloads if you are in the US and UK regions using Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk websites. Normally, these books are offered at discount prices in other regions.

I already started reading Matt Rudd's story, William Walker's First Year of Marriage. So far, it is very interesting read as the main character, William recounted his personal experience on his early marriage. It is fun and entertaining as he explained his relationship with his wife as well as the people close to them. Both of these books got high ratings from Amazon. Excellent catch, indeed!

Page to Screen: when texts become moving images

2011-02-18T02:39:00.000-08:00

NOVEL ADAPTATIONS ARE POPULAR NOWADAYS. Im sure that the medium transition is not easy as transforming these book pages into a wide screen film, trying to cover hundreds of pages into 1-2 hours (sometimes it reach 3 hours) viewing. But there are quite a number of successful stories that also become blockbusters and entertained us as much as we read these stories on paper.

Sometimes we are disappointed when the adaptation is not perfectly done especially when the plot or the ending are drastically changed! I love watching films and personally it is quite interesting and convincing to read first the original stories before they hit the screen. Ironically, I have not read some of the adapted films that I loved most such like the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter adventures series.

Last year, I watched two of the adapted films: My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult and My Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Unfortunately, I was bit disappointed with My Sister's Keeper considering that the ending of story was totally changed! Overall, watching these films also enhanced our understanding about the books and get a clearer picture of the stories as a whole.

BookFace: Ang Sandali ng mga Mata (The Moment of the Eyes) by Alvin B Yapan

2011-02-15T13:21:00.000-08:00

Synopsis: Alvin B. Yapan looks through the characters in the folk stories of the past and the Bikol people of the present. He uncovers what so long has been concealed about their lives and deaths and changed them into more practical people. The use of folk stories to complete the action marks a striking technical innovation, blending past and present while keeping the narrative moving into the future...Like the old ways of storytelling, the reader has to infer from the description of events and situations as Yapan runs together the time of the epic with contemporary time. Thus, this, too, is the story of contemporary Bikol. - Ma. Lilia F. Realubit

About the Author: From Pili, Camarines Sur (Philippines), Alvin B. Yapan teaches at Ateneo de Manila. He was involved in the 26th and 33rd U.P. Writers Workshops in Baguio(1996) and Los Baños(1998), including the Heights Annual Writers Workshop (1996). He received several recognitions through his short stories from various awards, namely: Dean's Award for the Arts for Creative Writing of Ateneo de Manila (1997), Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature (1997, 2002,2003), and NCCA (National Commission on Culture and the Arts) Writer's Prize (2005). "Nabulag ang Tagapagsalaysay" is the title of his first-ever short stories collection and it is included in the NCCA's New Authors Series summary. He was also the winner of the Juan C. Laya Award for Best Novel in a Philippine Language, 2006 National Book Awards.

I miss my old room... together with my three brothers without a TV

2011-02-11T06:27:00.000-08:00

INITIALLY, I WAS PLANNING to read this book in my white Kindle3G but I was lucky to grab a hardcopy from my favourite charity shop for 1 pound only! So, I spared a few schellings instead of purchasing its ebook version from Amazon. I was intrigued by the title and cover design of it, not to mention that this is one of the popular and recommended reads in GoodReads and to date, Room is still one of the best selling books in UK. Without a doubt, this book is also included in the 2011 Booklist of UK Channel 4's The TV Book Club.

However, I rated this book 3 out of 5 stars. Overall, I like the story, but not suitable for all ages! If I will recommend this for my mother (she is now 67 yrs old) to read, she might NOT be able to understand Jack's favourite children TV shows. On the other hand, I think the author is somehow able to manage enough to describe effectively of what a 5-yr old boy feels and thinks in embracing and enjoying life, together with his mother in a limited controlled environment. The planning and execution of Jack and Ma's escape are the best parts of the story! Unfortunately, Jack's new life outside the Room is not fully explored.

Lesson learned? Well, Jack's story reminds us that sometimes we created our own private Rooms which have limited access to other people or we do not want that every one could dwell inside. Maybe these Rooms provide us comfort, strength and encouragement to move on with our lives. Ultimately, these Rooms become our refuge and to some extent, we do not want to get out from these "comfort zones" and not taking risks to explore outside our Rooms, afraid to confront our fears to fail! In terms of child development, our parents play an important role in shaping our personalities and to prepare us in embarking with so called – life! Early development is a crucial stage in our young lives to be socially and psychologically prepared to embrace life. Of course, there are external forces that influence our young behaviours, but again with the proper guidance from our parents, the negative impacts/effects from these forces can be minimised or can be handled accordingly!

Speaking of externalities, television and other media/entertainment devices (interactive games, computers, DVD players, etc.) are major influential factors in growing-up. For instance, my cousin's youngest son (turned 3 last December) manages to operate an iPad and watched his favourite heroes cartoon programmes in Youtube! Consequently, he does heroes stuff – doing heroes iconic moves while wearing Batman, Spiderman and Ironman costumes in a day! Believe me, he is not crazy and being an Uncle, I am amused while watching him. Of course, there is limitation about this and when his parents come into picture, he does his tantrums – manageable to handle just diverting his attention.

A 2006 US survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that 75% of children under 6 years old watch some TV in a given day (www.ehow.com). Moreover, the study found out that children age 6 and under who watch television spend an average of one hour, and total "screen time" with these media gadgets goes up to nearly four hours and 30 minutes per day. There is a "misconception" among parents that allowing kids/babies to watch TV is educational. But according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), no screen time for children under 2 years old to prevent a reduction in communication and language skills. In addition, study also revealed that each hour of television per day results in a 2.68 decrease in a baby's language score. It is recommended that after the age of 2, parents could try to 1 or 2 hours of quality programming. On the other hand, the Nemours Foundation observes that, "in moderation, television can be educational in addition to entertaining - preschoolers can get help learning the alphabet on public television [and] grade-schoolers can learn about wildlife on nature shows." I think that "moderation" is the key when it comes to allowing young children to watch TV and other screen media. It is viewed that excessive viewing habits (more than four hours per day) can hamper with other aspects of a child's life development – physical activity and socialisation.

By the way, I took the Channel 4 TV Book Club's quiz and I got 83% (two mistakes out of 12 questions). I thought got it all right. Well, Jack thinks I'm clever as his Ma! I took it again and of course I answered them correctly – Jack's thinks I'm so clever but he will probably be that clever (like me) when he turns six!

If you want to know more about the author's inspiration to write, then visit this link: Emma Donoghue.

FINALLY, THIS STORY also reminded me of the American girl, Jaycee Lee Dugard being captive for 18 years. After her disappearance at age 11, her story became a world-wide sensation in August 2009. Maybe majority of us book fanatics thought that Donoghue's novel is based on her captivity experience. Unfortunately, Donoghue reveals that she got the inspiration to write Jack's life from the Austrian Fritzl's case.

"In Room we knowed what everything was called but in the world there's so much, persons don't even know the names" - Jack

Featured Bookreader: Norah BD

2011-02-08T13:53:00.000-08:00

MY FIRST FEATURED BOOKREADER is a retired nurse and one of the active members of BookCrossing (Northern Ireland) and GoodReads. Norah BD shared some of her recent reads as well as her recommended books for others to read.

Q1: What book are you currently reading now? The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Kim Edwards)

Q2: Why did you choose to read this particular book? It is a popular title and I received it through Bookcrossing 'First Lines' Xmas game in December 2010.

Q3: Would you recommend this book to others? Why? Not really. Poor reviews on Goodreads.com. Well written, but poor characters, sad people who couldn't handle emotions, but didn't develop the story well.

Q4. What is your favorite book? Briefly describe the story. I dont have favourite.

Q5: Give at least three (3) books you would like to recommend for others to read. The Book Thief (Markus Zusak), Pompeii (Robert Harris), and The Road less travelled (M Scott Peck)

Q6: Do you collect books? If yes, how many you have kept? Yes, lost count!

Q7: If you were stranded on an island, and you have only one book to carry, what would it be? A blank notebook to write in!

Q8: What is your favorite online social network for people who love books? Goodreads.com

Q9. What is your favorite film/movie adapted from a book? I dont have favourite.

Q10: What is your favorite quote/quotation from a book or author? None.

Norah BD also posted a review of The Memory Keeper's Daughter of Kim Edwards at GoodReads.Com. As quoted from her review:

"Good start, dragging a bit in the middle, ... I did enjoy it and thought it was well written, though I didn't really like the characters, with all their secrecy and inability to be honest with each other. It was certainly quite gripping and un-put-downable!"

She adds that, she's planning to release the book somewhere in London area during her forthcoming visit. Regarding her three recommended books, Norah BD has also reviewed one of them:

"Hugely enjoyed this historical novel, which reminded me of some of the tales my Latin teacher used to recount, of the days of the Roman Empire. Lots of interestingly and seemingly factual detail, with human interest too, most of the characters being well described, and a romantic element as well, ending 'happy ever after', though veiled as part of the myth..." (Pompeii by Robert Harris)

THANK YOU NORAH BD for accepting my invitation to be featured in my blog. And of course to my readers who want to share your passion for books, drop me a line at the comment box and be my next featured bookreader!

BookFace: Room by Emma Donoghue

2011-02-06T06:30:00.001-08:00

Synopsis: Jack is five, and excited about his birthday. He lives with his Ma in Room, which has a locked door and a skylight, and measures eleven feet and eleven feet. He loves watching TV, and the cartoon characters he calls friends, but he knows that nothing he sees on screen is truly real - only him, Ma and the things in Room. Until the day Ma admits that there's a world outside.

When a disability is under legal scrutiny

2011-02-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

THIS IS THE BEST EVER STORY from Jodi Picoult (gauging it from my previous reading of My Sister's Keeper, Perfect Match and Second Glance). At first, I was a little bit disappointed of the pacing of the story. Picoult has her own way of presenting the characters which quite effective to fully understand each of the personality involved in the story. If you have already read some of her books, you understand what Im saying here. Normally I want variations of presenting the plot even with the same authors, and this is the reason why I tried to avoid much of Picoult's stories.

House Rules is an engaging novel that allows readers to understand the emotional and psychological conditions that confront the characters which is very effective to get the interest of finishing the book (I think so...). For the first 100 pages, I was tempted to temporary abandoned reading it but then reaching the middle part of the book, my enthusiasm is building-up considering that I initially did some preliminary conclusions of what happened to Jess' disappearance/death; consequently I found out that, well almost 100 percent I got it right! At that point of my initial assessment of the events, I jumped to the conclusion that Picoult is not clever enough to sustain the suspense element of the story that I was able to predict the outcome of the investigation.

On the other hand, Picoult is perfectly intelligent enough to motivate her readers to bring their own initial investigations and validated at the end of the story. The focal point of the story is whether a person suffering from Asperger's syndrome can be convicted of a crime or can be acquitted because the suspect is not capable to validate that his action is right or wrong? As the story progresses, I cant resist to do my own judgment from the evidence presented, and Picoult perfectly crafted the story in such a way that readers, like myself who doesnt have any background in forensic or criminal investigations will embark and hold on to find the truth! Unfortunately, Picoult did NOT explicitly described the outcome or the verdict but somehow readers will have their own interpretations...maybe acquittal or conviction.

The criminal process somehow validates my on-going personal discovery about American justice system. Currently, I do regular readings on this subject matter as part of a personal assistance to my cousin's university degree in Criminal Justice and Picoult did well to convince me about the judicial proceedings without going to the real trials. Not only the technical aspect of coming-up with the conviction, but most importantly, Picoult provided an excellent argument to look at, not only the justice system but also the physical, financial, emotional and pyschological impacts to the parties involved. Specifically, the author brings a new dimension of bringing these vulnerable offenders or those with disabilities into trial that could bring "reforms" or challenges to the current criminal system. With my final note, Picoult also wanted to confront us and stir our values and principles especially for those families or individuals who are facing the same dilemma of bringing their loved ones with disabilities that cause a long term effect to the carers which is the hardest thing to accept!

BY THE WAY, the other thing that I like finishing Picoult's novels is that she encouraged readers to interact with her, through her "Reading Guide" presented at the end of the book. Being a part-time academician, this kind of book presentation will encourage educators to bring her stories in the classrooms or any debate for that matter.

"Sometimes the hardest thing to hear is the truth" - Emma

Making a difference...

2011-02-02T17:25:00.000-08:00

The Make A Difference Movie - The Teddy Stallard Story

by Mary Robinson Reynolds

A time honored classic story. What a little third grader says to his teacher bypasses the head and goes straight to the heart of any issue. You can re-energize your personal relationships and workplace culture--and inspire greater loyalty--using the power of compassion.

Not the kindest thing...

2011-02-01T14:40:00.000-08:00

A STORY THAT COULD HAPPEN to anyone but there is no suspense, no excitement at all. For Deborah, this is her roller-coaster and life-changing story but this situation might be avoided if she has a different spiritual view in life! I dont know but if she has a strong faith in God, despite the love towards her husband, she will NOT do it and not suffer the consequences before God's judgement and with the law!

Why we have to blame someone for what turned out of our relationship or what we are now? We are the one who take charge of our lives, despite what happened in the past!

Unfortunately, I dont have kids, but my parents brought up my other 9 siblings successfully, and as the author described Deborah's parenting, I think what happened to Adam and her relationship with Sophie, are just a manifestation of "bad" parenting! With this serious family problem, I do believe that children and close relatives should be informed and be aware of the situation. Sorry maybe because of my cultural background and Im very upset of the outcome of the story which could be avoided if Deborah and Neil have a strong spiritual connection. Im happy of the jury's verdict but still she has to serve some few years in prison.

In fairness, the author was able to bring a very controversial social issue of the present time and somehow she managed to provide the reader a good understanding on how the court proceedings are conducted.

THIS STORY ALSO REMINDED me of last week's health topic featured in This Morning ITV (UK) noontime show. Two daughters appeared in the program to share their dilemma to terminate the life of their father who is suffering from locked-up syndrome after a massive stroke in 2005. Unfortunately, it is a life imprisonment in the UK if convicted for assisting someone to die or commonly known as "mercy killing". It is a heartbreaking story - showing the support and strength within the family members to move on and still hoping that someday they will be able to give what the father is wishing for to end his suffering.

"You were just being kind, really. Anyone'd do the same, if they really loved someone. It shoudn't be counted like murder" - Patsy

The true spirit of Christmas...it is happening every day in our lives

2011-01-31T23:10:00.000-08:00

DO YOU KNOW WHO IS THE FATHER OF CHRISTMAS? Maybe, you are thinking about Santa Claus - who always ready to answer our wishes! Unfortunately, Santa is not the father of Christmas, Im referrring to Charles Dickens who first introduced to us the true spirit of White Christmas.

Honestly, I dont know him until I downloaded his novel entitled, A Christmas Carol using my ebook reader - AmazonKindle3G. Coincidentally before Xmas, I watched three films adapted from the novel: 1951, 1999 and 2004 (the musical). Honestly, I have difficulty reading the book but these adaptations somehow provided me to understand the deeper Dicken's talent, sense of humor, and a glimpse of his life.

Actually, this is my second free ebook downloaded from ManyBooks.Net and it is also accessible from Amazon as well. I decided to read this during the Xmas holiday just to have a perfect setting of Dickens' story as first published in 1843. As we all know that the story started on Xmas Eve when Jacob Marley's ghost visited his business partner, Ebenezer Scrooge. Then followed by visits from three other ghosts: Ghost of Xmas Past, Ghost of Xmas Present and Ghost of Xmas Yet to Come that took Scrooge to his past (childhood/youth), present time, and his future life. Looking at these various scenes, Scrooge was moved and promised to change his attitudes towards the people around him and for his life as a whole.

Im not forgetting the true essence of this celebration in the Christian community that a Saviour was born to save the world, but Dickens' main character showed us the other side: the truth or reality of living - poverty, greediness, power, and the influence of wealth (money) which are still relevant today!

As my two Irish friends wrote an easy in Verbal magazine featured Dickens' story and they commented that "the current recessions, with its slippery bankers and corporate corruptions show that Srooge is still with us, and his story has acquired a fresh, if not frosty, bite when read in the context of today's news."
Aside from this story, Dickens has written a number of novels and Im hoping that I could read them in due time like: Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities.

The video clip above is the 1951 film adaptation starring Alastair Sim.

BookFace: Short stories compiled by Andrew Lang (courtesy of Feedbooks)

2011-01-28T16:23:00.000-08:00

The Blue Fairy Book ***The Yellow Fairy Book

The Violet Fairy Book *** The Arabian Nights

Free copies for me! (courtesy of BookReads and LibraryThing)

2011-01-27T13:15:00.000-08:00

I STARTED MY MEMBERSHIP WITH TWO ONLINE BOOK CLUBS, GoodReads in June 2010 and Library Thing just few weeks ago. Aside from sharing my favourite authors, I met new online friends who have the same passion for books and I do write book reviews which are posted here in my blog.

In December 2010, I was selected as one of the GoodReads' First Reader in the regular giveaways promo for a copy of Laurie Bowler's Sunrise to Sunset (Moon Rising) published in 2010. The book is available in Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk (Kindle format) and Smashwords.

(Sunrise to Sunset Synopsis) Nessy wakes from her unconscious state to find she can no longer remember who she is or her purpose in life. Charles battles to try and tell her as much information as he can about her former life, and eventually submits to telling Nessy her true immortal state. Hera takes Nessy back to the past into the form of the Gulon, where she meets the other Gulon packs who have come to aid them while the covens have gathered hoping to glimpse their new queen and ruler of the underworld, little does Nessy realise that person is her! The continuing threat from the detested sinister Tellis coven fight back with the remaining members and they join forces with another coven that have long since been known for their massacres and barbaric ways for feeding. Nessy has to battle to protect the human race from extinction and to protect her title for the good of races, the immortal race and the mortals that surround her, with Charles and the Gulon they must succeed.

On the other hand, I also got my first free ebook copy from Library Thing after I joined the Member Giveaway Group few days ago! I got an e-copy of Dirty Little Angels written by Chris Tusa and published in 2009. I will write a review in exchange of this free ebook. This is available in Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Smashwords.

(Dirty Little Angels Synopsis). Set in the slums of New Orleans, among clusters of crack houses and abandoned buildings, Dirty Little Angels is the story of sixteen year old Hailey Trosclair. When the Trosclair family suffers a string of financial hardships and a miscarriage, Hailey finds herself looking to God to save her family. When her prayers go unanswered, Hailey puts her faith in Moses Watkins, a failed preacher and ex-con. Fascinated by Moses's lopsided view of religion, Hailey, and her brother Cyrus, begin spending time down at an abandoned bank that Moses plans to convert into a drive-through church. Gradually, though, Moses's twisted religious beliefs become increasingly more violent, and Hailey and Cyrus soon find themselves trapped in a world of danger and fear from which there may be no escape.

Well, thank you very much for these early giveaways and maybe you will be the next lucky one! Try a look and be a member of these book clubs... Hope to meet you very soon and dont forget to drop me a line! Oops, I forgot to give the website links if you are interested: GoodReads and Library Thing to get additional information.

BookFace: Rediscovering Philippine (Filipino) Folk Tales...series one

2011-01-26T12:35:00.000-08:00

I WAS STUNNED AND SPEECHLESS when I found out that Gutenberg Project thru its Philippine-based website has free ecopies (in different formats) of books about Philippine folklores - a collection of tales that focus on magic, superstitutions and customs of the Filipino people.

First published in 1916, this publication featured tales that are frequently heard in the past, and passed from one generation to another, coming from major groups: Tinguian, Igorot, tribes in Mindanao, including the Moro and Christian communities.

For me, this is a journey of rediscovering my heritage and culture through these tales and fables that most of them are known throughtout the 7,07 islands, or some of them have similarities and parallelisms found in Europe and India as well as in Borneo, Java and Sumatra. Unfortunately, with the modern time, they are now overshadowed by Western stories and gradually vanishing!

Of course, definitely I will read them and share my reviews here in the future. So, watch out for that or maybe if you have the opportunity to read these stories, it might be useful to share your views here in my blogsite.

HONESTLY, I HAVE TO ADMIT that in spite my passion for books, I am more drawn towards English writers than Filipino authors. What a shame that, only a handful of books written by Filipinos that I have the opportunity to read which most of them were part of the Philippine academic curriculum such like the novels written by Jose Rizal, Balagtas, etc., and not to mention some of the Filipino short stories that Ive read few months ago!

Note: Using CALIBRE, majority of the Gutenberg Project formats can be converted for Amazon Kindle or Whispernet reading and for other mobile reading devices available in the market. As a reminder, the link for free download is under the jurisdiction of Gutenberg Project and maybe it will change at any time.

Books for Giveaways...check it now

2011-01-25T14:12:00.000-08:00

DO YOU WANT TO GET FREE BOOKS (hardcopies or ebooks? Well, there is an existing website that allows members to request books free of charge. Wherever you are, you can join the site and browse the list of giveaways that might be applicable in your country of residence, but majority of these books are given in exchange of writing reviews of these books. There is no harm in trying your luck for a free copy!

Registration to this largest online book club requires you to create your own user name and password, including your postal details (if you are intereted to participate in the free pre-publication copies of books in exchange for your reviews).

CHECK IT HERE or click the images if you think that this site will help you in cataloging your books and connect with people who love books as you do!

BookFace: Tagalog (Filipino) eBooks free for download...

2011-01-23T12:13:00.000-08:00

MANYBOOKSdotNet is one of the main sources of free ebooks that offers an excellent selection of books in different digital formats (ePUB, eReader, PDF, Plucker, Mobipocket), readily available for download compatable to existing reading devices in the market such as Amazon Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Nook, Android, iLiad, Sony reader, etc.

The site is like an online library that contains thousands of the classical books by popular authors like Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Charles Darwin, James Royce, and many others; including some of the new ebooks by unknown writers in more than 30 languages.

Im introducing some of the books written by Filipino authors in Tagalog in the like of Honorio Lopez, Aurelio Tolentino, Francisco Balagtas and Jose Rizal. Some of these books are as follows: Esperanza (Jose Maria Rivera); Florante at Laura(Francisco Balagtas); Hindi Biro!... ó Ang Anting-Anting (José R. Francia); and Noli Me Tangere (José Rizal). To find out more, CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE OR THE TITLE OF THIS POST!

Moreover, if you are interested to read the English version of Jose Rizal's two novels: Noli Me Tangere (The Social Cancer, 1887) and El Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed, 1891), then just click the images below. Even myself, I havent read the English version of these novels that were originally written in Spanish, then translated to Filipino and being part of the Philippine secondary/high school curriculum.

Freebies to grab...

2011-01-22T17:26:00.000-08:00

THIS IS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD for Australia, Canada, and US regions. Unfortunately, it is NOT FREE but with a discounted price of $2 each for Asia & the Pacific, including MiddleEast and Africa.

Please note that due to copyright restrictions, the registration status of Amazon Kindle and its current location (while travelling/in transit) are the basis for free downloads. For instance, if you are travelling from elsewhere to United Kingdom (UK) with your Kindle, you cannot purchase thru Amazon.co.uk but you can use the Amazon.com, otherwise you change your Amazon account previous location to current address or transfer your Kindle registration/account to Amazon.co.uk.

However, even if you did not change your Kindle registration status, and your Kindle (being detected thru wireless connection) is outside these regions, you can not avail the free download from Amazon.com. In other words, both the account registration and the location of the Kindle should be the same region to avail these freebies, but sometimes freebies are available both in UK and US regions from Amazon.com and can be downloaded without any fuss, ONLY if your Kindle is registered in the US.

UPDATES: (27/01/11) Ive noticed that some of these books are already free in UK region since yesterday, even using Amazon.co.uk.

Featured Bookreader...be one of them to share the passion for books!

2011-01-22T05:56:00.000-08:00

HAVING MEMBERSHIP WITH VARIOUS ONLINE book clubs is exciting. Meeting people who have the same passion for books, or the interest in the current trend of reading using ebook devices - from Amazon Kindle to Sony reader is something to explore in this information and millenium age!

This year, I would like to share some of my close friends or people I met online who really enjoy reading and be happy to share their favourite stories and characters. On the other hand, if you are interested to participate and be part of this regular post, please answer the following answers and send it to: curiousph@yahoo.com and I will be happy to publish it here!

Q1: What book are you currently reading now? Briefly describe the book.
Q2: Why did you choose to read this particular book? Was it recommended by someone, like the author or subject matter?
Q3: Would you recommend this book to others? Why?
Q4: Which genre you prefer to read? Why?
Q5: Who is your favorite author? Tell something about this author.
Q6. What is your favorite book? Briefly describe the story.
Q7: Give at least three (3) books you would like to recommend for others to read.
Q8: Do you collect books? If yes, how many you have kept?
Q9: If you were stranded on an island, and you have only one book to carry, what would it be?
Q10: What is your favorite online social network for people who love books?
Q11. What is your favorite film/movie adapted from a book?
Q12: What is your favorite quote/quotation from a book or author?

Growing up...i grew perfectly normal!

2011-01-21T04:05:00.000-08:00

I thought this is a simple teenage story, unfortunately, I'm surprised of the emotional and psychological effects on me while reading it. The author tackled very sensitive issues on parenting, family relationship, growing up and sexuality.

These issues were presented in a lighter mood which is more easier to comprehend from a viewpoint of a teenager. With a sense of humor, the entertainment part brought the reading of this book enjoyable as well.

"So, I guess we are who are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them." - Charlie

Having relatives while growing up was beneficial to my parents and of course to myself. My uncles and aunties lived in our house which helped me to learn alot of things like preparing my assignments/homework on time, taking responsibilities of house chores like cooking, washing of our own underwears, etc. This is the reason why until now I'm still very close to my parents' brothers and sisters and once in a while I do ask favors from them!

FINALLY, the author mentioned alot of excellent books that I want to read in the future. You might be interested to find out as well. Here they are: On the Road, Naked Lunch, The Stranger, This Side of Paradise, Peter Pan, A Separate Peace, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, Hamlet, Walden, and The Fountainhead.

Note: This 232-page book was a pre Xmas presence from a friend working in the Philippine Embassy (London) who has the passion for books. She is one of the bosses in the Embassy at the moment. Indeed, one of her favourite books and I enjoyed it very much!

Newsbits: Ebook Freebies

2011-01-19T00:06:00.000-08:00

CHECK OUT AGAIN FOR NEW EBOOKS for free downloads. Aside from the classic ebooks such as: A Christmas Carol, Les Miserables, The Phantom of Opera, there are also ebooks that are offered free at a limited time from both Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk within the UK region only.

REMINDER: As of posting, these ebooks are available from both US and UK Amazon sites free for downloads. You need to open an account with Amazon before you could purchase as "free" price. Since my Kindle is registered in the US and with an account in Amazon.com, I could still download them free of charge, even though I'm travelling in the UK; unfortunately, not available in the US region.

Click here to find out more free and discounted ebooks

Don't dare to touch the girl with the dragon tattoo...

2011-01-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT that this book has a brilliant and engaging story. My enthusiasm to finish it was like when I also started reading Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code 6 years ago. Even though the plot was different, my adrenalin to find out the truth is beyond the thermometer reading!

Larsson did a brilliant story and characters that allow readers to be involved, not only to be entertained but also have critical thinking of the situations presented in the story, consequently draw some conclusions from beginning to end. The author tackled some of the most sensitive political and social issues of our society today - fraud, laundeering, rape, molestation, murder, and libel. And most importantly, the story has illustrated the importance of our family values in establishing friendship and relationship, specifically how our faith, loyalty, trust, and honesty played or influenced our relationship with other human beings.

The story was originally written in Swedish and I must say that the translation was straightforward and easy to follow, BUT Ive noticed that there are few words/terms used which were first time I encountered and most of them are Middle or Old English and be added to my vocabulary.

I can't wait to read the sequels, The Girl Who Played Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest and of course to have a complete DVD copy of the films adapted from the book!

"The Stock Exchange is something very different. There is no economy and no production of goods and services. There are only fantasies in which people from one hour to the next decide that this or that company is worth so many billions, more or less. It doesn't having a thing to do with reality ..." - Blomkvist

Note that this is my second purchased ebook from Amazon and it is directly stored to my Amazon Kindle 3G.

Interesting literary facts...that everyone should know

2011-01-12T16:56:00.000-08:00

Asda (UK) offers £1 books

2011-01-11T15:49:00.000-08:00

I WAS SURPRISED TO FIND OUT THAT Asda (UK) is currently offering books at £1! It is unbelievable that this British shop could sell books at the lowest discounted rates (almost 88%). Note that these books are not written by unknown writers but majority of them are still prominent authors nowadays. Check it out at your nearest Asda stores!

Life after death? I dont know but I want to believe after reading this

2011-01-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN by Garth Stein is my first ebook purchased from Amazon in July 2010. It was recommended by a passenger who was seated beside me in a Continental Airline flight from Heathrow Airport (London) to Los Angeles (US).

I initially planned to buy a hardcopy of it but it is really expensive to buy books in America, so I decided to have a epub (ebook) version instead (80% less cheaper).

The story is about a dog - Enzo who desperately wanted to communicate with his master, Denny and the rest of the family members or even the desire to become a human being. Since Denny is a race driver, Enzo also learned about the world of racing, including the personal struggles of Denny as a husband and a father. Despite his inability to talk, somehow he managed to be a trusted companion to Denny, even he was able to establish a connection to Denny's wife.

It has a happy ending but again, Enzo did experience the ups and downs during his lifespan, with undying aspiration to make his dream a reality - to become a car racer.

Garth Stein's novel tackled some of the important facets of living and these are shown in the personalities of the characters. In particular, despite the family problems and adversity he is facing, Denny managed to survive and became a well-known figure in the field of racing. It only shows that if we have the passion for what we are doing, then no one could stop us in doing it.

The book also reinforced of what I've learned from Joel Osteen's bible reading on the 5th January 2011. Osteen mentioned that our trials are "momentary" and he encouraged us to keep standing, keep believing, keep hoping, and have faith in God, then "victory" will follow! He adds up that God is building strength in us, God is depositing joy in us, and God is empowering us to make it through these adversities in life.

"I've always felt almost human. I've always known that there's something about me that's different than other dogs. Sure, I'm stuffed into a dog's body, but that's just the shell. It's what inside that's important. The soul. And my soul is very much human." - Enzo

How about the issue of "life after death", "afterlife" or "reincarnated"?. This belief is not 100% accepted by the modern society and even myself, I'm bit sceptical about it. Wikipedia defines it as "a part of, or essence of, an individual which carries with it and confers personal identity survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means." Existing views explain that this existence takes place in a spiritual realm, or the individual is reborn and begin the life cycle over again as a human being or reincarnated into another life - maybe animals. I dont know if this applies to Enzo, but personally after reading Stein's story, I want to believe and Enzo deserves it!

RJ Silver: The author behind the princess and the penis

2011-01-05T15:01:00.000-08:00

THIS IS AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH RJ SILVER, the author of the two popular ebook short stories available for free download from the various ebook sharing websites such as Manybooks and Smashwords.

For the record (as of posting): After posted four weeks ago, The Princess and the Penis (P&P) has hit #1 in short humor over and number #2 in humor overall ranking at Smashwords. In addition, P&P has been number #1 over at Feedbooks in weekly downloads for its first two weeks there; and currently the # 3 at Manybooks. Finally, it has downloaded over 2,500 times in the past two weeks, and average of 1,500 reads per week.

And because of that, I personally contacted RJ for a quick interview, just to know more about the writer behind P&P success. So, please welcome RJ Silver - he is currently enjoying the Thai's Singha beer!

1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? I was 19. I’d been out of school for four years (I left when I was 15), and had just completed a major portion of my self-education at night and on-weekends. Part of that education included teaching myself how to program computers, which left me two passions: that and literature. Ultimately, I loved literature more, so decided to make that my main goal while using computers to support me. As it turned out, people were willing to pay me a lot in the computer business and, so far, very little as a writer. But I refuse to “love the one I’m with”, as the song says, and continue working on my writing.

2. How long does it take you to write a book? It depends. My first draft of stories like The Princess & the Penis or The Ballerina, the Gymnast, and the Yoga Master typically take me about a month. Then there are the rewrites, which can be quite time-consuming and quite a bit more unpredictable. The thing with humor stories like these two is that you can’t misplace or misuse a single word or it spoils the effect, so polishing can take a couple of months part-time (best to leave it for a while in between reads).

3. What is your work schedule like when you're writing? Every day I get up early (I’m answering these questions at 4:00 a.m.) and spend my first three or four hours on writing (i.e. my best energy of the day). Then I roll over to 8 hours of computer work (sigh), and try to work in a few hours of story marketing (or, should I say, learning about marketing). If you add those up, it comes to about 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, which is a lot, but I’m not alone. I suspect every dedicated part-time writer probably does the same.

4. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? Probably that I often spend hours pacing rapidly back and forth, laughing to myself as I consider the many possibilities for humorous lines and situations in my stories. I think most people, if they saw me doing that, would conclude I was a ranting madman.

5. How do books get published? Wow, big subject. I’d say most get published via the path I’d taken with my thriller novels, i.e. find a good agent and let him/her take care of the rest. But it’s not a healthy industry – at least it wasn’t. The marketing execs are/were in control, not book lovers, which puts too much pressure on writers to write to a marketing slot/template and effectively suppresses one’s creativity. That’s why I’ve switched to humor and self-publishing. I now write for solely for joy to give joy, and am content to let the publishing chips fall where they may.

6. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books? Well, I have to admit it’s the humor element that spurs most of my ideas. I simply think up strange but comic situations (like the phallic lump in the princess’s bed), and then start to explore what people might do in those situations. But it’s the moral element that determines whether a story gets published. If in my quest for humor, I end up creating anything that’s negative in any way (crass, offensive, or potentially hurtful in the slightest), I put the story aside even if I have months of work into it. That’s why The Princess & the Penis and The Ballerina, the Gymnast, and the Yoga Master have strong moral centers in addition to their humor. I actually have one story that’s funnier than either of those, but I won’t release it because it has the potential to be slightly offensive, which I don’t condone (i.e. it’s not consistent with writing for joy to give joy).

7. When did you write your first book and how old were you? I wrote my first book when I was 19, basically following my realization that I loved literature more than anything else. Up until then, I was just an avid reader.

8. What do you like to do when you're not writing? Mostly travel and learn about different cultures. For example, I lived in China two years ago and currently live in Thailand.

9. What does your family think of your writing? My blood relatives have been extremely supportive, but it’s been hard on my romantic relationships. I do very well in the computer business when I’m working, but every time I save up money, I take off on another wild adventure to learn and write, and most women eventually grow tired of such shenanigans. They see my earning potential in computers and think more highly of that (i.e. as a potential mate) than they do of my low-paying writing exploits, which eventually leads to conflict and me heading for the exit sign. I don’t at all blame them for that stance, but what can I say? One has to follow one’s heart.

10. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books? How much hard work it requires. There’s an internal debate over literally every word in my stories, and that’s on top of detailed planning re: plots, characters, etc. Being a computer programmer, I’m pretty a little more methodical than most writers that way, some of whom I know are so creative they can just sit down and let it flow. I can’t. I have to squeeze it out of me.

11. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite? Ten thriller novels, the first eight of which you can throw away as me learning my craft. Number nine helped me acquire a top agent and opened a lot of doors for me at the world’s biggest publishers, but they were too afraid to publish because of its controversial content. Number ten was me writing to their template/spec, which sickened me so much, it turned me into a humor author. Four delightful children’s books (co-authored), that I hope will soon see the light of day again in this new environment (though under a different name, as I can’t sanction any connection between adult humor books with sexual elements and children’s books). And five humor short stories, only two of which meet the humor/morality bar I’ve set for myself (the two that are out now). Finally, I’m currently working on three more humor pieces, the first of which should be out the end of this month.

12. Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?Only one: write from the heart. That’ll not only make you a better writer, it’ll make you happier, too.

13. Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say? I’m starting to. Keep in mind, the RJ Silver humor stories have only been out for less than a month, but, amazingly, I’m already up to 1500 page views a week on my website (www.rjsilver.com) and rising, so I’m now getting emails/comments daily. Mostly, they’re just supportive. My favorite, by far, is when people tell me that one of the stories gave them a humorous, one-hour escape from something stressful or depressing, as that fulfills my core mandate of writing for joy to give joy.

14. Do you like to create books for adults? Yes, though, the truth is, I generally try to connect to the child in them.

15. What do you think makes a good story? In my case, humor, heart, humanity. I believe people want first and foremost to be entertained, but also generally prefer if what’s entertaining them also has substance.

16. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? Mostly, until 19, I sought freedom and adventure, not a specific career goal. As mentioned, that didn’t occur until I was 19.

17. In particular, I want to know what it is your motivation in writing the two short stories: The Princess and the Penis, and the Ballerina, the Gymnast, and the Yoga Master? How long it take to finish these stories in the final form? Well, P& P, when you stop to think about it, is first a very funny situation (and not just the presence of the phallic lump, but also the reactions/personalities involved), but it’s also about Amalia following her heart, but with respect to her rejecting something everyone is encouraging her to do but which she ultimately feels is bad (i.e. marrying Prince Rupert), and embracing something everyone feels is bad but she senses is good (i.e. the penis). With BGYM, the message is about putting aside the superficial (Vincent’s fantasy-driven relationships), in favor of something real (true love with his pudgy, chocoholic poet), with the humor coming mostly from the hilarious implosions of those earlier fantasies.

NOTE: RJ, THANK YOU VERY MUCH for this rare opportunity for having you in my blogsite. Good luck and we are looking forward to your next story!

Stuck on you: short stories from Jeffrey Archer

2011-01-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

TO START WITH THE FIRST DAY OF 2011, I purchased the latest kindle edition of Jeffrey Archer's Stuck On you - a collection of short stories from Amazon.com. Just click the photo at the left to find out more.

Honestly, I love Archer's style of writing like his novels: Kane and Abel, Sons of Fortune, and the Prodigal Daughter; to his short stories collections: A Quiver Full of Arrows, Cat O'Nine Tales, and Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less.

Surprisingly, this kindle edition is not expensive compare to his previous books. Im not sure if this is only an introductory price and maybe later on it will be increased. At the moment, the price from Amazon.com is $1.56 while in Amazon.co.uk (British site) is 0.99 sterling pound (99 pence).

I have also noticed that every day Amazon. com offers free ebook copies in a limited period of time (few hours, or days) and some of them are very good read, and most of the time, Im not lucky to catch these freebies. I tried to browse thousands of books listed under freebies top selection and majority of them are the classical ones and very easy to download thru my laptop.

Just beware that there are existing sites (personal blogs or commercial sites) advertising freebies or providing links to Amazon website for free ebooks download BUT THE TRUTH is that these ebooks ARE NOT FREE AT ALL. It seems that the database is outdated of ebooks that were previously posted as free during the past months. I dont know but I feel that these sites are not providing accurate information, eve though that it was cleared in the postings that it is not guaranteed for free download at the time of browsing. Do not be misguided by these advertising tricks and verify it first or click each ebook individually to confirm its current price.
In my case, I make sure with my best ability that the ones I shared here in my blog is valid and I personally confirmed that the book is downloadable at the time of posting, REGARDLESS OF YOUR LOCATION (Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk) will provide an alert message if this is restricted to other regions, outside US). If there are changes, then I have to do necessary updates for that particular post.

ANYWAY, IF YOU ARE a fan of Jeffrey Archer, his latest short stories is a best grab to start your 2011 - the Year of the Rabbit, and please expect my book review very soon!

UPDATES: For UK Kindle users, Amazon.co.uk is offering some good ebooks for less than one sterling pound. Check it out HERE. Again, this is as of January 01, 2011.

Life of Pi... available for free download

2010-12-31T14:26:00.000-08:00

AS OF POSTING DATED 12.31.2010 - 22:27 (UK time), the novel entitled, Life of Pi is available for free download from Amazon.com (US). Grab a copy now, otherwise it will be returned to its original price. Unfortunately, it is only available for Kindle or PC registered in the Amazon.com website. Click the photo to find out more!

Book Description: "One boy, one boat, one tiger . . . After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan – and a 450-pound Royal Bengal ..."

Another freebie is a collection of Fairy Tales stories by Hamilton Wright Mabie. This ebook includes the following short stories: One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes;The Magic Mirror; Hansel and Grethel; The Story of Aladdin; The White Cat; The Second Voyage of Sinba; The Golden Goose; The Twelve Brothers; Tom Thumb; Cinderella;Puss in Boots; Blue Beard; Sleeping Beauty; Jack and the Beanstalk; Little Red Riding Hood; Jack the Giant Killer; The Three Bears; The Princess On The Pea; The Ugly Duckling; and Beauty and the Beast. Click the photo to download.

UPDATES (1.3.2011): Unfortunately, Life of Pi by Yann Martel is NOT FREE anymore as of posting and it is now tagged at $5.75 at Amazon.com and 3.73 sterling pound at Amazon.co.uk.

Flash Updates: Reading Kindle eBooks makes easy

2010-12-31T09:26:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! This is the last day of 2010 and I am quite excited to start with the new year with a big bang especially with my passion for books. With the fast-pace of technology in communication, we can now have easy access to free ebooks, and recently Amazon.com just recently announced the lending/borrowing/sharing functionality for Kindle users. This means that selected ebooks can be borrowed from other users in a certain period of time (14 days at the moment). Unfortunately, it is quite different to verify what books are available for loans, unless you catch up with the Amazon Kindle facebook account for updates.

As my personal contribution to this "amazonian kindling" era, I will post (on a regular basis) the latest ebooks, including links of websites that provided affordable copies or maybe at its best price: FREE! There are existing sites that maintain database of free ebooks, especially the classic ones. Once in a while, Amazon US is also offering free of charge copies in a limited period of time. The Amazon UK is currently offering 1-pound for a selection of ebooks until 06 January 2011.

This week, I already downloaded a handful of copies in my white kindle3G with back-up in my laptop. Even if you dont have Kindle or ereader device, you can still read these books using your computer/laptop/netbook. The application can be downloaded from Amazon website or click the photo above. Later on, when you finally got your ereader gadget, it is easy to transfer the files from the computer.

With the start of new year, you maybe interested to check some of my ebook selection, available for download through your PC or directly to your Kindle or any any ereader device. Enjoy and share the fun in reading!

NOTE: Some of the interesting sites offering freebies are shown below. You can be a member of these sites as well for managing your bookshelves (from wish list to purchased ones).

1. Manybooks. The site is also advertised in Amazon which contains thousands of ebooks. If you are interested with classical novels, then this is for you. For example, I did find stories written in Tagalog or Filipino or novels written by Filipino authors/writers.

2. Smashwords. Very simple site but quite beneficial for people who want to start their careers in publication. The site allows members to upload their stories for free or market it for a minimal cost. It also allows members to download the files in various formats and shared it various socialnetworking sites such facebooks, twitter, etc.

3. Feedbooks. It is similar to Smashwords but it has a link that list down the popular ebooks every week. It has limited options for downloading formats and for sharing.

Reminder: The featured ebooks above are free for downloading, however it does not guaranteed that it will be free from the time you have access to these books. You have to check it first before downloading them, otherwise you will be charged. Majority of the classics ones are free!

The Princess and the Mythical Lump

2010-12-26T15:30:00.000-08:00

THIS IS HILARIOUS, FUNNY AND WITTY story of a Princess who is a fan of the Frog Prince's fairy tale. It is highly-recommended for young (at least 17) and old (up to 99), with a slice of Frog Prince's story and a twist at the end.

I dont want to spoil it, so I rather discover it by yourself and find out why I was laughing from beginning to end. I encourage you to share it with your friends. Happy new year everyone!

The Princess and the Penis should be in our ebook reader's top collection list!

To get a copy, please click the photo or the title of my post and you will be directed to the original site where the book is featured.

UPDATES (12.28.2010). I could not help myself not to download the second short story of RJ Silver entitled, The Ballerina, The Gymnast, and the Yoga Master. This is the love story of Vincent while he was narrating his adventures to a writer, Anna whom he met at the park; consequently he found the true essence of "love and relationship" at the end. This is about the "change" that these two things will bring to our lives - either for good or bad. Sadly, we can not control these changes, but we have the choice and the best way is to embrace these new things happening in our surroundings and bring the relationship in a better perspective.

FINALLY, WE DO NOT need to dwell in the past relationship, we have to move on and embrace the things that the future will bring in our life. Again, a happy ending for Vincent and Anna with a little bit of an unusual twist to embark in a new relationship!

Visit RJ Silver's website for more updates and his upcoming stories. Please note that you only need an hour or less to read each story. The first book has 9 chapters while the second book has 6 chapters and these stories have been published online for free in December and October 2010, respectively.

My reading list...merry xmas everyone!

2010-12-23T11:23:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS SEASON IS THE BUSIEST time of the year for everyone. Aside from buying gifts and decorating our own Xmas trees, we are also preparing for our reading list and to enjoy our holiday. Away from our work or school commitments, we could be able to engross ourselves reading our favourite authors' stories not only for the holiday but also for the new year.

Prior to this Xmas holiday, I already bought some of my favourite novels in the US. Unfortunately, most of them were left in my cousin's house, and hopefully will be sent home to the Philippines in the future. Only one book I brought with me returning back to the UK last November. Aside from being restricted of the 20 kg-luggage allowance, I already have my AmazonKindle 3G - an ultimate travel gadget from my cousin! So, it means that I will not carry any books anymore while traveling from now on!

Right now, Im currently reading C.S. Lewis novels, The Chronicles of Narnia. This is published in the US and distributed in Cosco - the big retail store in the States at $12.99 (exclusive of tax). You need to be a member to shop in Cosco! When I arrived in London at the end of November, a friend of mine from the Philippine Embassy surprised me with a book entitled, The perks of being a wallflower written by Stephen Chbosky. I havent started reading this book yet but it seems interesting. A week after, I was coming back to Belfast, I bought a book of my fav lady writers, Jodi Piccult entitled House Rules which I started reading the first few pages while waiting for my flight.

For the meantime, Im finishing Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol novel using my AmazonKindle and The Chronicles of Narnia is my back-up! Few days ago, I grabbed one book displayed in a shelve inside Belfast central train station. The book is written by Karin Evans entitled The Lost Daughters of China.

It seems that I'm getting a long reading list at the moment after buying additional 6 books from the discounted stores. Not only that, Im also building up my ebook collection in my Kindle and the Amazon website really generous to provide some useful links to free ebooks, especially the classics ones. Just to mention a few, I got ebooks of Dr. Jose Rizal's popular novels (in English translation). Rizal is the national hero of the Philippines and wrote two influential books, namely: Noli Me Tangere (An Eagle Flight or The Social Cancer) and El Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed).

I had the chance to read these books (originally written in Spanish) in Filipino version as reading requirements in high school. I can also read them using my laptop since I downloaded the Kindle software for PC/laptop application which allows me to read even without using my Kindle or I can share files from PC/laptop to Kindle, bothways.

THIS IS IT... new stories to read and more characters to explore especially using my new travel companion - AmazonKindle3G.

Merry Christmas and God Bless every one!

World Book Night sets in March 2011

2010-12-02T13:39:00.000-08:00

Newsbit: (01/02/11). Im delighted to share this good news about my application for this event. Im lucky to be chosen as one of the book givers on the 5th of March 2011 and will be distributing 48 copies of Sarah Waters' book entitled, Fingersmith.

IT IS LAUNCHED TODAY (2 December 2010), the World Book Night is a special event that will encourage the lucky 20,000 book-givers to distribute the 25 chosen books on the night of Saturday, 5 March 2011.

To be considered as one of the book-givers, applicants have until Tuesday, 4 January 2011 to submit online application and the successful ones will be contacted on 28 January. The organizer will choose the book-givers according to the following criteria: a passion for reading, a commitment to spread that passion to others, the spread of givers throughout the UK and Ireland, and the need to have a diverse range of givers.

Finally, the givers must be aged 18 or over, must not be employed by or related to anyone employed by the publisher of the book chosen, and of course must be available to give books away on the night of March 5 2011. Note that the lucky givers will become founder members of World Book Night and they will be given the opportunity to share their experiences thru a social networking site.

I already applied today and below are my answers to the questions asked in the online application:

1. The book from the list of 25 that you would most like to give. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.

2. Why have you chosen this book? Please tell us, in no more than 100 words, why you have chosen the book you most want to give and why you think everyone should read it. I chose this book because I had the chance to read Waters' debut novel, Tipping the Velvet. I like Sarah's writing style with a slice of sense of humour and sexuality. I expect that Fingersmith will offer the same excitement and interesting characters. Unfortunately, I have a copy of the book but I haven’t read it until now. So, it will be my next read as soon I finished reading Jodi Piccult's House Rules over the weekend. Honestly, I seldom read novels written by women, and Waters is lucky enough to be in my list, including Jodi Piccult and Mary Higgins Clark.

3. Who would you give your copies to? * Please tell us in no more than 100 words a little about how and to whom you would like to give the books. WBN is keen to see givers taking the books to places where they might not otherwise reach. I am a member of BookCrossing- Northern Ireland and I will collaborate with the members to distribute the books. I will ask my friend to drive me outside the city and hopefully stop in shops and malls or even bus stops to hand over the books.

4. Is there another book you would like to give if your first choice is not available? Selected Poems by Seamus Heaney

To find out more of the selected 25 book titles, CLICK HERE...
UPDATES: (21/01/11) I already got a confirmation email about my application and I was informed that the application is extended until 24 January 2011. On the other hand, it is a first come first serve basis after the organizer received more than 20,000 applicants. Most likely, those early applicants have the greater chance to be selected! Good luck!

Digital Photography: An overview

2010-09-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

My Fascination with Traveling

2010-09-23T10:31:00.000-07:00

My fascination...

A simple way of sho...

By Reymos

Book Preview

AT LAST I SUCCESSFULLY CREATED AND PUBLISHED MY FIRST EVER COFFEE TABLE BOOK using Blurb. It is a forty-page landscape print showcasing my very own images taken during my travels locally and abroad using my dependable-companions, Sony Cybershot and Olympus (for underwater).

My fascination with Traveling by Reymos | Make Your Own Book

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED to have a signed copy of this book, you can join my "Grab a Copy" contest which details will be posted very soon. Your comments are also welcome. Please watch out for my 2nd book entitled, My Travel Blog...

For every journey there is a story to tell... and this is my own story. Unfolding before your eyes through the images I captured during my travels...

The meaningful life according to Rick Warren

2010-09-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

I borrowed some books from my cousin’s friend including the inspirational and life-changing book of Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life.

Actually, I got my personal copy from my cousin when I visited the US four years ago. But that time I was not ready to discover Warren’s charisma to inspire millions of people around the world about the true essence of living. Maybe, this is timely now to find out why this book is considered as a priceless gift for everyone who wants to know the purpose of their lives and fulfil their own destiny in God's plan. I will try to come-up with a journal or notes about my personal discoveries and hopefully be able to inspire other people to embrace the greatness of God!

Im already half way through with the book and so far it is refreshing to learn God's words. Warren's style of writing is easy to follow and the discussions/contents are encouraging and transforming!

The book provided us the five purposes for our life on earth: To be a member of his family, a model of his character, a magnifier of his glory, a minister of his grace, and a messeger of his Good News to others. Specifically, according to Warren the following are our 5 purposes in life: You were planned for God's pleasure, You were formed for God's family, You were created to become like Christ, You were shaped for serving God, and finally, you were made for a mission.

The purpose of your life is far greater that your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It's far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest
dreams...
There is no fear in love; perferct love drives out all fear...
God does not want anyone to be lost, but He wants all people to change their hearts and lives.

Travel Book @ Blurb

2010-07-07T19:50:00.000-07:00

I AM A MEMBER OF BLURB but I havent created my own photo book. Alot of aspiring photographers are taking advantage of the site's features to create, publish and sell their books. Looking at these albums, it is very inspiring to have one!

Of Fields Pharaohs and Fellahin by Mike Shepherd | Make Your Own

Author's Note: A photographic study of Egypt, from ancient monuments to fields of cabbages, from temples to modern streetlife. Text includes a mixture of how the shots came about or simple comments on the locations. I hope you will find it entertaining as well as informative. Most of all I would like you to feel, as you turn the pages, either nostalgia for a country you may already know and love, or a real need to visit Egypt for the first time.

About the Photographer: MIKE SHEPHERD left the Art College for a career in advertising as an Art Director. Working with another photographer for an album cover shoot was the beginning of his model making, set building, and special effects career. His clients include Paul McCartney, 10cc, Smirnoff, JCB and Dupont. His favourite stint was Playdoh modelling for Hasbro, who also asked him to be involved to design and produce a sculpture for the 'Save the Children Festival of Trees' in London.' For additional info about Mike, you can click the link HERE.

Im also featuring another Blurbarian - Ken S. who happened to be a Filipino. He already published two books: Turkey and India - featuring his amazing visits to these countries. Enjoy his photos and maybe you will be inspired to explore other places and share it with us thru Blurb.

INDIA by Ken Subillaga | Make Your Own Book

Free Ebooks @ Browse Inside

2010-07-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

BROWSE INSIDE (beta) allows internet users to have access to ebooks free of charge, either full access or just some sections of the novel, highlighting the first few pages of the chapters. Actually, I found the site when I was browsing the BookAarmy.com homepage which offers ebooks to be downloaded free of charge.

I think the main objective of these useful sites is that it allows everyone to read stories written by their favourite writers online without spending a penny (well not to mention the charges from the wireless connection provider). Unfortunately, you can not save the file on our computers, but on the other hand, it is an alternative option while travelling or just having a past time in an internet cafe and even while waiting a flight at the airport. Make sure you have an unlimited access to the internet where ever you go.

One of the examples available in the site is the novel The Pact: A Love Story written by Jodi Picoult. I like the writing style of Jodi after reading her popular books: My Sister's Keeper (also a movie), Second Glance, and Perfect Match. I havent read The Pact but Im sure it is another heart-moving story about parenting and friendship.

(Note: Synopsis taken from BookArmy website). For eighteen years the Hartes and the Golds have lived next door to each other, sharing everything from Chinese food to chicken pox to carpool duty. Parents and children alike have been best friends, so it's no surprise that in high school Chris and Emily's friendship blossoms into something more. So when midnight calls from the hospital come in, no one is ready for the appalling truth: Emily is dead at seventeen from a gunshot wound to the head. There is a single unspent bullet in the gun that Chris took from his father's cabinet - a bullet that Chris tells police he intended for himself. But a detective has doubts about the suicide pact that Chris has described. The profound questions faced by the characters in this heartrending novel are those we can all relate to: How well do we ever really know our children or our friends? As its chapters unfold, alternating between an idyllic past and an unthinkable present, The Pact paints an indelible portrait of families in anguish, culminating in an astonishingly suspenseful courtroom drama.

FINALLY, these both sites also include reviews and ratings from the members as well as listing of latest and forthcoming publications. Some of these books have their few pages available online that provide us a sneak of the book content. In some way or another it gives us the option either to buy it or not; or we can recommend it to our online friends in various networking sites such facebook, twitter, blogger, myspace, etc.

Exploring Google Books.Com

2010-06-23T02:42:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU TO ANGELINE ADAMS (a member of bookcrossingni) thru her recent article published in VERBAL MAGAZINE that I found out that Google maintains a database of books and some of them are in pdf files which means these books can be read online without any ereader gadget. This is one of the examples...about travel photography and stories.

The Prince of Mist - a first novel of the author of The Shadow of the Wind

2010-06-03T16:08:00.000-07:00

AS SOON I FINISHED READING the second bookseller of Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Angel's Game (which I previously posted an initial review), I decided to buy his English translated first Spanish novel, The Prince of Mist which is available at Tesco (UK) for half price ( hardcover, 6.49 pounds).

Just for a matter of two consecutive nights, I discovered why this Zafon's earlier writing was loved by "those who are young and those who are not so young." With 202 pages, the story begun when Max Carver's family decided to move from the city to the countryside along the beach. As soon as they occupied the wooden house, Max (13 yrs old boy) started to experience strange things - including the discovery of a walled garden, diving in a sunken ship called Orpheus, including the newly found friendship with Roland. Revealing the secrecy behind the life of Roland and his grandfather, Mr. Kay (the lighthouse keeper) leads to unexpected life-and-death encounters of the Prince of Mist, Mr. Cain.

When a debt is not settled, it gathers interest but that does not cancel the original debts.

The style of Zafon's storytelling reminded me of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. Unlike the two current novels (The Angel's Game and The Shadow of the Wind,) The Prince of Mist does not contain much of Zafon's poetic lines, but it does capture our imagination - a tale of adventure, magic and mystery which also embodied in the children books written by Lewis. Indeed a recommended summer read!

The Spanish version was released in 1993 and translated to English in 2010 by Lucia Graves.

Book Catcher 2010 Series 3

2010-06-03T06:39:00.000-07:00

Pick-e-book corner: Spencer Johnson

2010-06-02T05:31:00.000-07:00

THIS IS ONLY A TRIAL Google document sharing thru my ebooks collection. If you are interested to have a copy, please leave a message in the comment box with your proper contact details. I want to share my collection to legitimate individuals who have the same passion in reading.

ONE REQUEST: Please include your favourite novel(s) or author(s), and/or what you are reading now.

Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson

Briefly, the book is about our reactions towards "change" in our life and work. It is about the four characters - two mice: Sniff and Scurry, and two little humans: Hem and Haw are looking for the cheese (represents happiness and success) in a maze, Very inspirational/motivational story! Excerpt of the book could be found HERE.

Can you embrace change in your life as well as in your professional work?

NOTE: Documents sharing by Google requires a google (gmail) email account to get access to the specific folder/document. It also requires a software to open or extract the file. You can try jZip (http://www.jzip.com/) - a free easy and archiving winzip alternative downloading software.

Books Catcher 2010 Series 2 @ Poundland

2010-05-27T04:15:00.000-07:00

My book appetizer...my current initial read!

2010-05-26T05:48:00.000-07:00

I'M CURRENTLY READING THE SECOND NOVEL of Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Angel's Game. Im now at the middle section of the book and Im not still excited to find out where the story is heading to.

Unlike the first novel of Zafon, "The Shadows of the Wind", I was already amazed of the storylines and the characters just only in the first few pages of the book; but in Angel's Game, it is a little bit slow and less surprises from the main characters!

More pages to go so Im expecting that the story will be intensed to a higher level of mystery! Some of the poetic lines from the first and second acts of the book that struck me most.

Faith is an instinctive response to aspects of existence that we cannot explain by any other means - be it the moral void we perceive in the universe, the certainty of death, the mystery of the origin of things, the meaning of our own lives or the absence of meaning.

All interpretation or observation of reality is necessarily fiction. In this case, the problem is that man is moral animal abandoned in an amoral universe and condemned to a finite existence with no other meaning than to perpetuate the natural cycle of the species. It is impossible to survive in a prolonged state of reality... we spend...our lives dreaming... when we're awake.

The day women are allowed to learn to read and write, the world will become ungovernable.

Books Catcher 2010 Series 1

2010-03-06T13:45:00.000-08:00

Unforgettable places... memorable experiences

2010-02-05T06:37:00.000-08:00

"By their very nature islands are often unforgettable. Their stark beauty and peaceful solitude bear witness to the drama of their creation "... Steve Davey

BEFORE BBC BOOKSHOP IN BELFAST was closed permanently in 2007, I bought several books and DVDs for a half price from the store. In particular, I collected 3 out of the 4 exciting series of books written by international travel writers, Steve Davey and Steve Watkins; and photographers, Marc Schlossman and Clare Jones. Briefly, these travel books include the following: Unforgettable Islands to escape to before you die, Unforgettable Journeys to take before you die, Unforgettable Things to do before you die, and finally Unforgettable Places to see before you die which I am planning to purchase in the future.

First, I will be sharing to you the fourth title published in 2007, entitled Unforgettable Islands to escape to before you die! Why the Unforgettable Islands? Well, just to give you first a background of my origin. I was born and raised in one of the 7,107 islands of the Philippine archipelago? Where is Philippines located, by the way? Having a review of geography, my home country is just 3 hours away from Japan and Singapore by plane and almost 5 hours from Australia. Also, this is where Mylene Klass' mother and Nicole Scherzinger's (Pussycat Dolls) father came from. People who are living in the Philippines are known as Filipinos and the country got its name from Spain - colonized "Filipinas" for more than 300 years. In other words, I am an islander who loves the beach, coconut trees, waves, sunset, coral reefs, forest, cool breeze and rivers! The environment I grew up was quite similar as portrayed in the Shipwrecked or Lost TV programmes, except that there is no competition and no fear for survival. It is a place I always called "home".

This is the reason why the book reminded me of my home - a place where illustrated inside the colourful 256 pages of the book. When I found this book during my first visit to BBC store, I was fascinated by its cover and the title itself. A feeling that draws me to browse the book and finding out why it is unforgettable. I searched it thru Amazon to see if I could get a cheaper deal using my dooyoo voucher; unfortunately the price is the same at £18.99. Few months later, I found out the BBC store is closing down and offering for 50-70% discounts. Without a second thought, I bought the 3 titles. The author, Steve Davey and with the assistance of Marc Schlossman for the images of the 40 islands featured in the book, vividly describe his personal experience visiting these islands for almost 11 months. Some of the islands where covered in the first three series of his publications which I will be reviewed in the near future. I don't want to give you all the contents of this book, but rather I will provide you the outstanding elements of the book that a traveller and photo hobbyist like me could get unforgettable insights of the featured islands which I am also dying to explore them before I die!

Generally, the book is perfectly packaged in a form suitable for a coffee table display. The image featured in the hard cover is taken from Stockholm, Sweden. The author's introduction is very well written emphasizing the value of visiting these places, without affecting the eco-system of the islands. He acknowledged both the positive and negative effects of tourism to these vulnerable places, and the same time the rewarding hospitality and generosity of the people living in these islands surrounded by bodies of water. On the other hand, the lay-out is simple where the texts and images were laid-out for easy reading. Each of the 40 islands featured in the book are illustrated between 8-10 pages, where photos are in different sizes with individual short caption. For each island, extra information is added explaining on how to reach the place in terms of the best time to visit and the mode of transport to reach the island.

Few pages at the back of the book cover important contacts that the author recommended to communicate, including useful websites. It also contains a map showing the locations of each island as a table contents graphically laid out at the first few pages of the book for easy browsing. When I finally finished reading the book, the first thing that entered my mind was on the decision of the author to embark visiting these places in a span of 11 months. As a traveller, visiting a place is always motivated by fascinating features and priceless experience of being there in the island as described by others who have been there and also the promotional campaigns thru available on-line or printed materials. I am not sure if the author was persuaded by what others have said or what he had read about these islands. Maybe, as a travel writer, he was looking for distinct characteristics of each island that might encourage other people (like me) to experience what he had or maybe trying to persuade a segment of the urban society to visiting some places that they would never considered before. In order to understand the motivation of the author to publish these 40 islands, I decided to examine the characteristics of each island as being discussed by the author.

These are the interesting points that I have found out and vividly demonstrated in the images printed on it.

* The island has unspoiled beaches, wildlife (flora and fauna) or biological diversity.
* The island has interesting history, including the way of living: culture, tradition, settlements, inhabitants, religion and beliefs
* The island has unique geological formation that attracts people for climbing, cycling, walking
* The island has a archaeological significance, including sensitive marine environment with endangered species
* The island has beautiful landscape, including cityscape and urban form and architecture
* The island is accessible for all means of transport, especially by air
* The island has "photogenic" charisma - a delight for both professional and amateur photographers

I also observed that the quality of the images inside the book portrayed the significance of these places, without major alteration of the print. In other words, the photos do not bear any special effects which enhance the colour and presentation of the images. What you see in the pages of the book, are what you get when you visit these places - very natural view of people, structures, motion, textures, and surroundings. I was really impressed with images taken in Thailand, Fiji, Santa Barbara (USA), Sicily, Portugal, including the Philippines. Why this publication stands-out from the rest of the travel books that have read?

Aside from the reason of having visited the countries (not the islands) mentioned, the book is unique in a sense that the author gave his personal reflections about the travel as well as the photographer captured the natural sceneries thru the images. There was a chemistry between the writer and the photographer to bring out the best features of these islands - to captivate the hearts of travellers like me - destined to explore the planet Earth. In a way, it serves as a travel guide as well but more on the aspects of the physical features of the islands - exploring the unspoiled beauty.

Are you hopeful that you have already visited some of these places during your holidays or are you planning to visit them in months to come and still undecided to have it a go as your next top priority holiday destination? Well, personally I have only visited 2 of the islands, namely: Stockholm (Sweden) and Hongkong (China) out of the 40 places mentioned in the book. But Im desperately dying to explore the rest before I die especially the following: Bacuit Archipelago, Palawan (Philippines), Big Island (Hawaii), Phang Nga Bay Island (Thailand), Bali (Indonesia), Ibiza and Formentera (Spain), and the Society Islands (French Polynesia). It is an unforgettable reading this book that provided me a glimpse of beautiful places that Mother Earth can offer. Despite the economic crunch, everybody deserves one or two places to visit before the year ends.

UNFORGETTABLE ISLANDS, unforgettable places, unforgettable moments and memorable experience of a life time await everyone!

A challenging priesthood life...

2010-02-01T15:33:00.000-08:00

I got a copy of the book personally from the author himself. James (Jim) Kennedy had the opportunity to work and live in the Philipppines as a priest more than 30 years ago. The book accounts his personal struggles to serve God, his survival against the political and social system in the country. It is a human journey of facing difficulties and challenges to uphold his faith and beliefs while helping Filipino communities (north part of Metro Manila) with their daily lives.

Religion was an intellectual as well as an emotional experience. It had to be offered as something which could be accepted and rejected, and that meant that there should be dialogue about it.

Filipinos in general don't go in for 365-day-a-year or 52-weeks-a year religion. They do go in for 15-days-a-year religion - Easte (five days), Christmas (nine days), the town fiesta (one day) - and when they celebrate them, they do it in style.
... If you're clear in your mind about what you're going to paint, there's no sense in painting it. Our work should always be uncovering surprises, new options, new necessities. We should gear ourselves to life so that its Pandora's box confronts us, teases us, frightens us, awes us and shocks us into becoming bigger and better, albeit a bit more furrowed.

James Patterson's characters say...

2010-01-30T04:39:00.000-08:00

The tiger was an enigma in every way, a mystery no one had ever solved. Actually, there were no tigers in Africa, which was how he got his nickname. He was like no other, one of a kind, superior to all the other animals, especially humans. (Cross Country)

You can't hold me here. I'm stronger than you. I'm stronger than the whole system. You can't judge me. (Judge and Jury)

Maybe I'll make a deeply disturbing film, like An Inconvenient Truth, or The Road to Guantanamo. Call it, Never See the Sun Again. Play it in all the art houses here in the East. Get the bleeding hearts on my side. (Double Cross)

My Best Read...Find out why!

2010-01-22T15:59:00.000-08:00

This is the list of my fav read since I started collecting books when I was in Australia in 2002. The authors allow me to love their characters, inspire me on their style of writing, and building up my interest in the category of their stories mostly in suspense and thriller genre, including stories about family values, relationships, friendships and sexuality.

1. Kane and Abel - Jeffrey Archer
2. Sons of Fortune - Jeffrey Archer
3. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
3. The Arrival of Fergal Flynn - Brian Kennedy
4. Roman Song - Brian Kennedy
5. Toad Heaven - Morris Gleitzman
6. Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
7. Second Glance - Jodi Picoult
8. Maximum Ride (The Angel Experiment) - James Patterson
9. The Prodigal Daughter - Jeffrey Archer
10. The Other Hand - Chris Cleave
11. The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
12. Marley and Me - John Grogan

I am a fan of Jeffrey Archer stories but Kane and Abel and Sons of Fortune are my best read - with mix of emotions. I like James Patterson's story of Alex Cross, including his Max (Angel Experiment) series. On the other hand, even though I read alot of Harlan Coben and Mary Higgins Clark novels, unfortunately, I coud not remember what stories stand out to be included in my fav list, but all of them are worth reading. I have a strong interest in short stories such like Different Seasons (Stephen King), including A Twist in Tale and Twelve Red Herrings of Jeffrey Archer.

Billy the kid... the Prince of Wales

2010-01-13T23:22:00.000-08:00

I don't like the attention. I feel uncomfortable with it, but I have particularly appreciated being left alone at Eton, which has allowed me to concentrate on my school work and enjoy being with my friends without being followed by cameras.

The living conditions here aren't exactly what I used to... You dont have any secrets. You have everything with everyone. I found it very difficult myself to start with because I am a very private person. But I learnt to deal with it.

But William's copybook remains unblotted and while his popular image as a handsome young Prince in touch with the people provides the royal soap opera with a genuine hero, William remains the monarchy's hope and future.