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

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

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

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.