Book Review: Shine of Candy Gourlay

Candy Gourlay is currently visiting the Philippine for series of book signing and talks about her latest novel, Shine. She will be at Glorietta 1 National Bookstore on Saturday, 27 September for the final leg of her book launching in the Philippines. Check it out.

Shine by Candy Gourlay...a book launch in Manila

SHINE is the second novel of Candy Gourlay, after her debut novel, Tall Story... Candy is a Filipino-Brit writer and she is launching Shine in Manila this September. 

She is also one of the speakers in the forthcoming International Manila Book Fair 2014 at SMX Mall of Asia, Pasay City, Philippines. For additional information of Candy's schedule, please click the photo above.

23 April - World Book Day in the Philippines

The World Book and Copyright Day 2014 was launched by UNESCO eighteen years ago. This year, the Philippines thru the sponsorship of the National Book Development Board (NBDB), the event will showcasing creative performances, musical acts, exhibitions, workshops, seminars, and more!

The event will also features some of the Filipino artists and performers such as the UP Guitar Trio, Sipat Lawin Ensemble, slam poets from Speak! Philippines, the Balagstars Balagtasan group from Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika, at Anyo (LIRA), and comedian RJ Ledesma. This year's venue is the Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City and everyone is invited to participate in the promotion of reading and writing.

Click the image (top) for additional information. By the way, this is also coincides with the 4th year celebration of the World Book Night in the UK, Ireland and USA.

My personal donation to a community public library in the Philippines

I HAVE COLLECTED A NUMBER OF MAGAZINES during my residency in Northern Ireland. For almost 3 years, I did not subscribe to any publication, but I buy every issue per month. These magazines include: Stuff (the world's best-selling gadget magazines), Digital Camera, Practical Photography, T3 (The gadget magazine), Digital Photo, and many others. More than a hundred copies were collected and sent back to the Philippine after I completed my studies.

Lately, I decided to donate these magazines to our local community library, Quezon City Public Library located in Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila. Instead of keeping them in the box, it is more useful if these mags will be displayed and share to other local residents who regularly visit the library.

Aside from these mags, a number of pocket books are also donated. Some of these books were also registered at BookCrossing to track down their journey. The officer-in-charge was happy enough to accept my personal collection.

I am just hoping that this contribution to the library will increase the readership and inspire others to travel and take photos while traveling.

Note: I got an official letter from the librarian, thanking me of my donation. Some of the copies of the magazines will be displayed in the main library of the city. I also decide to donate copies of my postgraduate theses to the library very soon. 

ENRICH (healthy lifestyle and living): Very enriching publication

October and November 2013

THIS IS MY FEW REVIEWS FOR MAGAZINES posted online, but it might be the first ever full review of Enrich in the Philippines. The magazine is distributed locally at Mercury Drug – a Filipino drugstore with almost a hundred 24-hour branches nationwide.   Enrich is published monthly by Mercury Media Corporation and produced by Skittles-Broke Media (Hong Kong). 

I came across with the magazine during my regular visits to Mercury to buy medicines and groceries last year. At first, I was surprised to find this at the check-out counter, just beside the cashier's machine. Not quite a common location, but I think this is something that customers could grab at the last minute of shopping, or to get the attention of customers and tempting them to browse its pages while waiting for their turn to pay. Who knows, one of them grabs a copy for only PhP65 (100 pages including cover) which is cheaper than that of other leading glossy publications available in the supermarkets and bookstores.

Lately, I decided to buy its October and November 2013 issues for personal reasons: (a) the mag featured Louvre Museum (were I spent 6 hours just to explore the entire building and meet Mona Lisa in person); (b) it featured places like Siargao (Surigao del Norte) - reminded me of my first surfing lesson in San Juan, La Union, and Dublin (Republic of Ireland) - part of my PhD thesis on urban regeneration; and (c) it offered 20% discounted rate for Mercury Suki cardholder - absolutely a big saving!

Well, because of these reasons, I was encouraged to post a comment on its Facebook account (https://www.facebook.com/enrichmagazine?fref=ts) just to inform the publisher that I finally read the magazine! Eventually, it inspired me to write a detailed review (as you are reading now) and also to share my travel experiences for those places that have I visited in the past as featured in the magazine.  Honestly, I think this is the big factor that pushed me to buy it. But I'm sure that the magazine is different from those popular travel publications even though Enrich's front cover is showcasing travel destinations locally and abroad, its main features also focusing on health, sports and medicine which others do not cater.

My first surfing lesson at San Juan, La Union

These two issues, (Volume 6, Issues 63 and 64, October and November, respectively), contain interesting places that I had the opportunity to explore in the past.  In particular, October issue featured Siargao Island (Surigao del Norte), Dublin City (Republic of Ireland), and Louvre Museum (France), while November continued to carry-on with Louvre Museum's artwork. 

Siargao's article reminded me of my first attempt to surf in San Juan, La Union last year. What a surprise, I did well in my first ride on board and instantly, it made me think to consider it as a regular holiday sporting event! To find out more of my surfing adventure, CLICK HERE. 

One of the hostels at the Temple Bar area

"Georgian & Gorgeous Dublin" (written by Shalini Mitra) highlights city's tourism infrastructure – from historical buildings to downtown night life. I was a little bit disappointed of the article because of the limited attractions (with photos) covered in the article. I thought that, the author missed-out some of the most relevant attractions at the city center like the Irish colorful doors, statue of James Joyce, Stephen Green Park, monuments, and other prominent old buildings (aside from Trinity College). She did not mention the "special token" given to visitors upon arrival at the viewing deck of Guinness Storehouse, aside from a free sip of the Irish "black beer". Until now, this small gift is safely kept and one of my most priceless souvenirs.  If you are interested to find more about my Dublin escapades, please CLICK HERE and HERE.

I love reading pocket books, and Dan Brown's books are always in my top list, including Da Vinci Code which is featured in both issues. Interestingly, the article entitled, " Following the Da Vinci Code: Trail at the Louvre" highlights the factual truth why Dan Brown chose Louvre as one of the settings for his former book.  The two parts of the article somehow reminded me of my 6-hour stay in the museum 5 years ago. Indeed for 9Euro, my admiration to more than 35,000 pieces of decorative art, sculptures, paintings, drawings, and antiques is indescribable! I took hundreds of photographs but these images are enough to capture the richness of Louvre's collection. Indeed, another visit to the museum is something to look forward to in the future. Again, more stories of my tour to Paris, CLICK HERE and HERE. 

I spent 6 hours inside the museum

Other enriching and informative sections of the mag include "This Month in History" which showcase important historical events and personalities that shape our civilization;  "Physical Fitness Formulas"  that covers a simple techniques, exercises and workouts for various body parts; "Our Weird and Wonderful World  is a "quirky news" that highlights
some of the unusual and strangest things happening on Earth; and " What.com" provides a quick review of useful Pinoy websites available on the worldwide web.

And most importantly, the sports, medical and health sections are very educational and helpful. I think Enrich is commendable on this regard! Why? These articles can help increase the level of awareness for healthy lifestyle and simple living among Filipinos. 

The glass dome -entrance to the museum

For example, October and November issues featured the following topics: indicators of stress, diabetes as so called lifestyle disease, thyroid disease, stem cell therapy, common health problems that affect call center agents, recognizing genius abilities among children, sweet addiction, and hormonal fluctuations and dominance.  It is also interesting to mention the article (November issue) that tells us the on-going health caravan project of the Philippine Department of Health which started in 2011. This "Journey to a Healthy Life" aims to increase the awareness on practices related to maternal and child health and nutrition. This is a very noble cause of the Philippine government in combating malnutrition and malpractices on family planning.

Not to be the least, Enrich has promotional offers that are available to Mercury Drug valued customers.  There are discounted coupons (detachable from the magazine) to be collected and redeemed anytime for specific products available in the drugstore in a limited promotional period.

I have only one comment for the cover story and front lay-out of Enrich. This is not really a downside of the publication, but rather to enhance the marketability of it. In order not to be mistaken as a "travel" magazine, I suggest that the cover photo/page should have bigger thumbnails of the regular health featured articles, having the same importance with the featured travel destination sections. But so far, the current lay-out of the pages (articles versus ads), quality of the images, font color/size are technically above the standards for a wide spectrum of readership, not only in the Philippines but also abroad.

FOR PROSPECTIVE READERS out there, there is a special promo for a one year subscription.  At Php624 (Metro Manila area) for 12 issues, you get a free Mercury Drug Suki card plus a copy of the 13^th issue. A 20% discount (Php52) per issue is also extended to existing valued Suki card holders. The Suki card allows customers of the drugstore to accumulate points from purchases and these points will be converted into cash as payments for future purchases. Monthly newsletter is also available and it can be downloaded from its website at: www.enrich.com.ph.

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).

BookFace: (Filipino) Ebooks for Kids...free download...

ONE OF THE POPULAR POSTS I shared in my blogsite was posted two years ago about free e-books in Filipino. How did I know it? Well, I have this icon in my sidebar that reflects the readers or visitors of the post: Filipino E-books for Free. This is a live traffic feed (Feedjit) in real time which shows the location who clicked/viewed and the title of the posts in my blogsite. This is an easy way to determine which posts I have popular or got more attention in the cyberspace.

Recently, I  received a comment from a reader: "Hello Reymos, I was hoping that you could help me.I have 7yrs old daughter. I want her to learn how to read Filipino books. Is there any books for kids that i can download from your books...Thanks."  My straightforward response is: "I do not have links for Filipino books online dedicated for young readers." However, I can help it out...this is the reason why I posted this journal to help the parent of this 7-yr old girl and hopefully other guardians to find time in telling stories to their children!

Few weeks ago, I visited a local library near my residence for personal reasons. This is a branch library being managed by a local government in one of the cities in Metro Manila. You might be asking me: why I visited this particular library?

Well, for good reasons... Firstly, this is part of my future feature in my blog - to introduce local libraries in the metropolis...Secondly, I want to donate some of my old magazines in photography and travel to the library as part of its collection. These mags are just stored inside the balikbayan boxes for years now! These are old issues but I believe the information written in the publications are still relevant nowadays. Thirdly, I want to offer my knowledge in blogging and photography thru the library. I can volunteer myself in the library's regular outreach programs such as computer literacy tutorials.

The librarian was so enthusiastic to listen to my suggestions and proposals...She even introduced the library's website. This was the reason why I can help it out to find free e-books for children! Why? The librarian informed me that the library has a collection of e-books for Filipino young readers and old ones who can still read stories to kids. So now, I am sharing this to you!

The International Children's Digital Library (ICDL) contains a collection of books from around the world, including from the Philippines. Aside from ICDL, there are additional e-books for international readers. Check it out by clicking the logo below.

NOTE: For other Filipino e-books for free reading, CLICK HERE...

Candy Gourlay's second novel launches on 5 September

Candy's first novel, The Tall Story received numerous good reviews, including various awards and nominations around the world. Her second book will be launched on 5 Sept 2013, 

but its e-book format is already available at Amazon for downloand. 

For additional information, visit Candy's website Candy Gourlay.

BookFace: Cut-price at National Bookstore (Philippines) - Part 1

Another set of books written by my favorite British writer, JEFFREY ARCHER. Only Time Will Tell is the first book in the Clifton Chronicles - a new series about the story of a family across generations and oceans, from heartbreak to triumph...I haven't read this book but hopefully, I need to grab the rest of the copies of the series before I could embark myself in the epic tale of Harry Clifton. 

And Thereby Hangs a Tale and The New Collected Short Stories are all excellent collection of short stories of Archer. I enjoyed the latter, while the former were extracted from his three previous published collection of stories...

All of these books were 70% discounted, courtesy of National Book Store! 

Book sale ends on 8 September 2013.  

Discounted offers at National Bookstore (Philippines)

This is a tradition of one of the biggest bookstores in the Philippines to offer discounted rates of books - up to 70%. National Bookstore (NBS) is generous to cut down its price every year to book addicts like me. It is almost a two-week promotional event to grab copies of my favorite writers, including reference materials. 

Personally, I already bought 11 books: The Complete Guide to Flags of the World, Just Take My Heart (Mary Higgins Clark), The Almost Moon (Alice Sebold), Her Fearful Symmetry (Audrey Niffenegger), and Before Ever After (Samantha Sotto).

I got another hardcover copy of  The Prisoner of Heaven (Carlos Ruiz Zafon), including his teens' novel entitled, The Midnight Palace. I also grabbed copies of James Patterson's novels: Guilty Wives and Now You See Her...I was stunned to pick the first novel of Tim Kring, SHIFT. Did you know that Tim Kring is the creator and producer of the popular US tv series, HEROES!

Australian Education Fair 2013 sets in Manila (Philippines)

Your quest for a better future begins here! 
Have the opportunity to meet and talk to various Australian university representatives. 
Learn about the study opportunities Australia has to offer.
Admission, Consultation and Visa processing are FREE!
August 10, 2013 (Saturday) 1PM - 5PM
Ballroom B, Dusit Thani Hotel Makati City
Philippines
Register at www.ausfair2013.eventbrite.com or call 816 0755 local 116
or click the image above

Warehouse Sale at Nationalbookstore (15-18 Nov 2012)



From 15-18 November at 10 am to 7 pm, get up to 80% off on books, supplies and gift items at the 4th Floor of National Book Store Quezon Avenue cor. Sct. Borromeo and Panay Avenue., Quezon City, Philippines. Visit their Facebook fanpage for details by clicking the image above. See you there!



Study Abroad: World Education Exhibit, 16-18 Nov 2012 (Cebu and Manila)

This event is the first World Education Exhibit (WEE) organized by IDP Philippines to be held in Manila and Cebu., 17-18 Nov and 16 Nov, respectively. This biggest educational exhibit aims to gather thousands of Filipino students who are planning to study, work and even migrate oversea. Expected universities and colleges joining the event are coming from Australia, New Zealand, UK, USA and Canada. IDP will also provide free consultation and processing of applications during the event for those who plan to study in Australia. For details, click the image above to visit IDP Facebook fanpage.

My teacher, my hero...



A simple card. A red card. Just simply a Valentine's card. Almost 40 years old. It survived and intact (with little brittleness in the paper). Kept by one of my grade school teachers. She was my Grade 3 teacher. She retired few weeks ago after serving for so many years in one of the government primary schools in Sibuyan, Romblon.

I can't remember that I gave this little card to her. But for sure that this cut-out card was given to her in February 1973. How I did manage to have it now? Well, her daughter-in-law is my sister. My sister was helping rampaging her things while cleaning up her room at school. Of course, my teacher was excited to give it to me - reminded her/me of my thoughtfulness. I was one of the top pupils in the class and of course the best folk dancer. I did the "Sayaw sa Bangko" (Chair Dance) with her (my teacher) as the choreographer.

Thank you for giving it back to me.
Thank you for being part of what I have achieved now.
Indeed, you were my teacher... my hero!



National Bookstore joins Manila International Book Fair 2012

Not to miss the book signing sessions of local and international writers. Personally, I am looking forward to meet the Fil-Canadian author, Jennifer Hillier and hopefully grab a copy of one of her suspense-thriller novels, Creep and have it sign. Aside from booksigning, National Book Store is also giving away an iPad unit for valued customers who visited its booth during the book fair. 

Visit its Facebook fanpage or click the image above for details. 

Candy Gourlay's Tall Story grabs Philippine children's book award

THIS IS A BIG NEWS FOR CHILDREN'S BOOK LOVERS and for adults too (like myself) who read the book, Tall Story written by Fil-Brit mom, Candy Gourlay. Personally, I do not know Candy and her book, but because of the internet, I found out that her book is receiving good reviews worldwide and it was also launched in the Philippine Embassy (London).

I ordered the book from Amazon and of course contacted Candy thru her official website. Eventually, I met Candy in London last year before coming back to Manila (after my post graduate program in Northern Ireland). Once in a while, we exchange messages but due to my hectic work schedule, I seldom visit my Facebook account and not up-to-date of Tall Story's nomination in the 2012 Philippine National Children's Book Awards.

This award is organized by the National Book Development Board (NBDB) in cooperation with the Philippine Board on Books for the Young (PBBY)and launched the competition in 2010.

From the Judge's Highlights (taken from FemaleNetwork):

 "The experience of reading Tall Story was as exhausting as climbing a small hill when you’re forty and out of shape. Reading Bernardo and Andi’s story forces you to be a keen and sensitive reader. You want the story to end well, but how can it? So you keep on reading no matter what, and you pay attention to everything that happens. The plot pushes and surprises at so many different points. And you invest emotionally on characters that you discover you have loved long before the story reaches midway."

Indeed, Tall Story deserves this award... I am sure that other readers will agree with me! For the list of the 2012 winners, click here or click the top most photo. This is the link of my review and the post when I chose Candy as a featured author in the blogsite.

One more thing, if I know that Candy is one of the winners of the competition, I will be sitting in front of the stage with a big smile while the Tall Story is called. I found out that the venue of the awarding ceremony is the Mind Museum in Global City, just few meters away from our office building. Sayang talaga... but nevertheless...a high five to Ms Candy G!

As a brief history, the 1st National Children’s Book Award, six books were chosen as the Best Reads of 2010 from a total of 131 books nominated. The winners were as follows:

(1) Araw sa Palengke (Adarna House) written by May Tobias-Papa and illustrated by Isabel Roxas

(2) Tuwing Sabado (Lampara Books) written by Russell Molina and illustrated by Sergio Bumatay III

(3) Can We Live on Mars? (Adarna House) written by Gidget Roceles-Jimenez and illustrated by Bru

(4) Lub-Dub, Lub-Dub (Bookmark) written by Russell Molina and illustrated by Jomike Tejido

(5) Tagu-Taguan (Tahanan Books) written and illustrated by Jomike Tejido

(6) Just Add Dirt (Adarna) written by Becky Bravo and illustrated by Jason Moss

National Bookstore on sale now

STARTING TODAY 03 August, the biggest bookstore in the Philippines, National Book Store is offering a cut-price up to 70%  off on books until 19 August. Aside from this limited offer, the bookstore has been giving a huge discount on books as low as Php100.00 (US$2.4).  For additional information, please visit its Facebook account or just simply click the photo above.

Take advantage of their "Laking National" privilege cards to earn extra points from all purchases and eventually converted into cash. This is redeemable as the points reached the minimum cash equivalent of PhP10.00. For new applicant, you can pay the membership card in the store and immediately the card is issued bearing your name. I dont know if it applies to all branches, but last year when I renewed by card, it took more than a month for the issuance of the card. I got my first Laking National card in 2005. There is a membership discount for all students by showing a current school/university ID.

Book Fair 2012 at Market Market (Philippines)

MAD ABOUT BOOKS - This is the current book fair event at Market-Market in Global City, Taguig, Philippines. The fair started last 18 June and will end on the 24th June.

Amazingly, books prices range from PhP10pesos (24 UScents) to Php500pesos (12 USdollars).

I cant imagine that I bought 26 books from the fair and tagged as low as PhP100 (2.5 USdollars), almost 91 percent discount from the original selling price.

Aside from selling books, the fair also came-out with daily program for children.

A close encounter with Logos Hope...floating book fair

BookFace: Courtesy of Chapters & Pages (Philippines)

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.