Discounted books and Kobo (Philippines) Launching: Courtesy of Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) 2013

THE RAIN POURED SO HARD but it did not stop me to catch the last hours of MIBF on its final day in SMX Convention Hall Complex last week. This is a 5-day event and still I did the last-minute visit to the venue despite the heavy rain pouring the metropolis. Thanks to MRT and I reached the venue 2 hours prior to closing!

One of the highlights of my visit was a friendly chat to the product representative of Kobo e-reader. Through National Bookstore, this latest gadget is introduced to the Filipino readers and officially launched in NBS website over the weekend. Technical features and specifications for Kobo Tablet and eReader are already posted for browsing and for possible online orders/purchases. I'm already a member Kobo-Hongkong using my playbook Blackberry since last year. Once in a while, it offers discounted rates thru its regular newsletter send to members. The Hunger Games (Part 1) is my first e-book purchased from the website. For easy access to Filipino ebooks with Philippine peso tag prices, I decided to open an account in Kobo-Philippines.

Unfortunately, it is currently experiencing technical problem after I upgraded the current version of the application in my playbook gadget. However, I can access my e-books library using other computer units in the internet cafe/shop.

Only four books I managed to buy from the event. Two books (Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less; Cat O'Nine Tales) by Jeffrey Archer at PhP20 each from Goodwill Bookstore; only one book from NBS entitled The God of Small Things (A Booker Prize Winner); and two books (Alex Cross, Run of James Patterson; and Building and Managing Ebook Collections) courtesy of iFlickPhotoBook as souvenir deals for a photo shoot (as shown above).

I face books with fascination...

MY FASCINATION WITH BOOKS started when I took a two-year postgraduate program in Australia. That was eleven years ago! Then, after my five years residency in the UK, I already accumulated quite a number of reading materials, including travel books and magazines that added to my previous collections. I should admit that I am now a book addict - hoarding all the books of my favorite storytellers! This is part of my plan to set-up my own mini-library in my hometown in the Philippines.

My book collection will be part of a reading centre where everyone, young and old can share these books and be inspired to read more and learn new stories and new places. I did several appearances to book launching/signing both locally and abroad. I had the chance to met some of these writers like Candy Gourlay (Tall Story), Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo (Trese Comic Book series), Samantha Sotto ( Before Ever After ), and Jennifer Hillier (Creep); even on-line interviews with Phillip Thomas Duck (Excuse Me, Miss), Stuart Neild (Giant Killer Eels), and Emma Donoghue (Room). I am a fan of Jeffrey Archer stories but Kane and Abel and Sons of Fortune are my best reads.

I also like James Patterson's story of Alex Cross, including his Max (Angel Experiment) series, including novels written by Harlan Coben, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Jodi Picoult and Mary Higgins Clark. Some of the short stories that I really like are Different Seasons by Stephen King, including A Twist in Tale, and Twelve Red Herrings by Jeffrey Archer. These 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.

One of the highlights of being a book addict, I was chosen as a bookgiver during the World Book Night 2011 held in the UK. I was one of the lucky volunteers to distribute 48 copies of Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. This book is one of 40,000 copies printed of each of the 25 brilliant titles selected by the organizer. That's 1,000,000 books to be read and enjoyed and then shared. The World Book Night is a celebration of great writing and the power of books and the pleasures of reading.

Some of my interactions with these authors are as follows: I met Stuart Neild on-line thru his e-books published in Amazon and Smashwords websites. He loves to write stories that go behind our wildest dreams which for sure it entice our appetite for horror, suspense and thriller plots. Stuart says:"A good story is 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...snappy, interesting story telling that kept you entertained and hooked got a little lost..."

Phillip Thomas Duck writes sexy short stories like One Quick Kiss and the first offering of his romantic suspense series, Excuse Me, Miss. Any suggestions to help someone become a better writer? He responds: "Read a lot. 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."

 I also asked RJ Silver regarding his work schedule when he is writing. He answers: "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). 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." He adds that he wrote the first draft of stories like The Princess & the Penis or The Ballerina, the Gymnast, and the Yoga Master typically for about a month.

Finally, one of the memorable interactions with writers was when Emma Donoghue was featured on GoodReads where she answered questions and comments from the members online. I posted my question about the settings of her novel, Room.

My comment was: " I have 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 try to get some settings from her story?"

Then Emma replies: "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." She also revealed that she got numerous offers for a film adaptation of Room but to date, nothing formalized yet. Personally, this is something to look forward to especially the on-screen characterization of Jack.

There you have it folks! My passion for books does not fade as the time flies. With advanced technology, I can read my books anywhere, anytime using my e-book gadget - Amazon Kindle! Or I can also share these books thru this personal blogsite. 


"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!" 

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!

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

The Blue Fairy Book ***The Yellow Fairy Book

The Violet Fairy Book *** The Arabian Nights

Books for Giveaways...check it now

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!

Stuck on you: short stories from Jeffrey Archer

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

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

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!

Free Ebooks @ Browse Inside

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

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.