In my review of Marivi Soliven’s “The Mango Bride”, I mentioned how the novel made very effective use of verisimilitude to keep readers, especially Filipino readers, engaged.
One of the fun “Spot The Familiar Scenario” things in the book is on page 149. Take a look! π
“Away!” “Fight!”
My tiring but book-tastic weekend is over, but…hey, it’s another Bookmark Monday!
Today’s bookmark was sent to me a few years ago by the awesomest person in Cebu City, Marivic a.k.a. Miss A.M.! Thank you! *mwah! hugs!*
This is a thin wooden bookmark with a carved wooden owl that’s designed to perch atop your book. And it’s made in Cebu City, of course! At least I can say I’ve been there. (^_^)
I took a shot of this with my signed copy of Ransom Riggs’ “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” to commemorate Random Ransom’s visit to the Philippines.
Speaking of Random Ransom…in my giveaway this month, someone is going to win a signed copy of “Miss Peregrine”! Stay tuned for the mechanics. (^_-)-β
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And once again, I apologize for the quality of the image because I still haven’t resolved my uploaded image quality problems here on the blog. Everything looks fine in my computer, but they pixelize once they are uploaded to WordPress. If there’s a kind soul out there who can help me solve this, please message me? π
Shout-out to Leia: Thanks for the help with the coverage and for force-cajoling me into ordering that cake. (^_^)
This is a painted bamboo screen bookmark from Vietnam. It would be cute if you could actually roll this up like window blinds if you want to start reading, and roll them back down to mark the page. π
Again, Thank You / Salamat / κ°μ¬ν©λλ€ to my globe-trotting friends for this one. I wish that next time, I can say “I got this bookmark during my trip to [insert awesome destination here].”
I’m back with another Snapshots post to fulfill my promise of sharing more bookmarks and just in time to join in Bookmark Mondays at Guiltless Reading. ^_^
This one’s from Thailand, and is a present from μλ§ Monster (a.k.a. Mabs) and λμ Echo. It’s a thin wood bookmark with a metal design of a lucky elephant.
Apparently, it’s a lucky elephant if it’s depicted with its trunk curled up. Down-turned trunks = not good. And that’s our Lesson for the Day. π
And as you can see from the photo, I’m starting on “The Hunger Games: The Filipino Edition.” It’s turning out to be better translated compared to “Takipsilim (Twilight)”.
I turned to one of my all-time favorite Hunger Games scenes when I took the photo. *_* Strategic!Stuttering!Lovestruck!Peeta = β€.
A good friend who became the catalyst for my geek-out over Korean dramas and 1 Night 2 Daysβwe call her Mommy Monster LOLβrecently went to Seoul. (I’ve actually been watching the Korean dramas that are broadcast on local TV for years now, but one fateful day when we had a chat about dramas over coffee and she recommended I watch “The Moon That Embraces The Sun ν΄λ₯Ό νμ 묔 started all this craziness. π )
So anyway, she gave me this when she came back from Seoul:
It’s a lady in a hanbok playing a traditional flute called a dae-geum (λκΈ).
μλ§ Mabs, Daene (your K names escape me right now), κ°μ¬ν©λλ€! β€,μ°ν
This year, friends who’ve gone on trips abroad have taken to giving me bookmarks from the places they visited. Gotta admit it’s a great gift to give to someone who loves books!
So yeah, maybe I’ll start a bookmark collection now. I’ll post more snapshots of (international) bookmarks soon. π
A wee break from all the The Hunger Games re-read posts.
I’m still transcribing my interview with author Mina V. Esguerra, which will appear in the form of a profile on GMA News Online – Lifestyle sometime this week or early next week. In the interim :P, here’s a snapshot of what she wrote on my copy of Interim Goddess of Love:
I enjoyed finally meeting Mina, who I’ve only ever corresponded with via e-mail and Twitter. She’s very passionate about her writing, and was very forthcoming when I asked her to share her thoughts and experiences about self-publishing independent publishing. I hope I will be able to capture that enthusiasm in the profile that I’m writing. π
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College sophomore Hannah Maquiling doesn’t know why everyone tells her their love problems. She’s never even had a boyfriend, but that doesn’t stop people from spilling their guts to her, and asking for advice. So maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise when the cutest guy in school tells her that she’s going to have to take on this responsibility — but for all humanity.
The Goddess of Love has gone AWOL. It’s a problem, because her job is to keep in check this world’s obsession with love (and lack of it). The God of the Sun, for now an impossibly handsome senior at an exclusive college just outside of Metro Manila, thinks Hannah has what it takes to (temporarily) do the job.
While she’s learning to do this goddess thing, she practices on the love troubles of shy Kathy, who’s got a secret admirer on campus. Hannah’s mission, should she choose to accept it, is to make sure that he’s not a creepy stalker and they find their happily ever after — or at least something that’ll last until next semester. (As if she could refuse! The Sun God asked so nicely. And he’s so, well, hot.)
Interim Goddess of Love is available via Amazon and Mina’s Multiply Store.
Caution: O.C. Fangirl Blogging
When I started collecting Brandon Sanderson’s books, the very first one I bought was the UK mass market edition of Mistborn: The Final Empire. Although the US covers look and feel more like classic fantasy, the UK covers have a certain minimalist appeal. I tend to be OC about editions, so I hounded the stores until I got the entire Mistborn trilogy in matching editions.
I made sure to get the UK editions for his subsequent epic fantasies, although I gave up on getting them all in mass market format because Gollancz’s mass market The Way of Kings was split into 2 volumes. And when The Alloy of Law came out, the local store stocked only the regular paperback.
The UK edition of Warbreaker very recently appeared in another local store, so I got a copy even though I already read the e-book, so that I can complete my collection. I also want to read Warbreaker again to stick tabs on the pages with my favorite passages, and to just generally enjoy all of Lightsong’s witty dialogue. And I couldn’t resist the lilac-colored font. π
(O.C. comment: Warbreaker’s title doesn’t have curliques on the spine. It bothers me.)
As you can see, my copy of Elantris is still a mass market US; it looks so out-of-place in that group. Keep an eye out for the UK edition in stores for me, will you, Pinoy friends? π
So why do I like collecting the UK editions aside from the endless amusement I get when I imagine hearing the narrator speak in a British accent inside my head? If you don’t have the moolah to get a hardbound copy, then the UK mass markets are a good value for your money. They normally cost just as much as the US mass market, but the UK MMPs, particularly the Gollancz ones, have better paper and print quality. The British eds are also a little bigger (Elantris and Mistborn in the photo above are both classified as MMPs), so the font size is more comfortable for the eyes.
As for Sanderson’s other books, I’m still missing volumes 3 and 4 of his Alcatraz series for young adults. I got the 1st volume at the Scholastic Warehouse Sale, and the 2nd just randomly appeared in another store. I saw volume 3 somewhere else, but it’s a hardbound copy, and I’m hesitant to get it.
And although I’m 25 pages into the 1st volume of The Wheel of Time, um…that’s not on the table today, ‘kay? ‘Kay. π
Next mission: Procure a copy of the Mistborn Adventure Game.
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Shout-outs! — Thanks to Aaron for the heads-up on Warbreaker, and to Leia for calling the store to reserve a copy for me. π
I finished reading Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl last week. It’s the Book of the Month of The Mysterious Reading Society, a private Goodreads reading group that I’m in with a few real-life friends.
We agreed not to post (spoiler-y) comments before we meet for our book discussion, but since it’s my Book Hamster who had something to say about a particular passage, maybe this doesn’t count? *adopts innocent look*
Did the Dazed Hamster say “cue Savage Garden”?
*casts Shield spells* *Protego!*
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I’ve added 2 more books to my Book Collection gallery here on the blog:
"Makamisa" signed by Ambeth Ocampo
"Moondogs" signed by Alexander Yates
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p.s. Apologies for the quality of the photos; I only have a phone camera. π
The Girl Who Read and Other Stories 