Reading something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue
Book Events
Quarter Quell Live Action Role Play (LARP)
Aug 30th
Yesterday’s Mockingjay Launch Party was such a blast!
I’m still wading through hundreds of event photos, and am in the middle of writing an article about the event for Manila Bulletin, but I know you’re all waiting for one thing, anyway: the major highlight of the Mockingjay Launch Party — the Quarter Quell Live Action Role Play (LARP)!
Last year, the Hunger Games LARP at the Manila International Book Fair was a huge success, and I was lucky to be one of the few people to cover it. Of course, this meant the Mockingjay launch party wouldn’t be complete without a LARP, and Scholastic upped the ante this year with the Quarter Quell!
24 tributes representing the 12 districts of Panem participated in this year’s Quarter Quell LARP, competing for exciting prizes from Scholastic and National Book Store.
Here’s a recap of the Quarter Quell LARP (based on the events in Catching Fire) which is easy enough to replicate in case you’re planning your own Hunger Games party!
Mockingjay Launch Party!
Aug 19th
Calling all Hunger Games fans!
Join Flips Flipping Pages, New Worlds Alliance, Scholastic Philippines, and National Book Store as we celebrate the release of Mockingjay, the highly-anticipated third book in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy. It’ll be an afternoon of fun fandom on Sunday, Aug. 29th, 1-5 pm at NBS Bestsellers, Robinsons Galleria, packed with activities for all Hunger Games fans!
Warehouse Raid!
Aug 15th
I hadn’t been planning on going to the Books for Less warehouse sale, because it’s quite far from my usual haunts and I had no idea how to get there. But when Flipper friend Marie asked if I wanted to go, I readily agreed — when it comes to book hunting, I really don’t need to be asked twice!
We met at another bookstore around mid-afternoon — I just had to get a copy of Suzanne Collins’ Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane, because I already finished book 1 and I had book 3 waiting at home. Then we took the MRT to EDSA Shangri-la, where fellow Flipper Jan (thanks, Jan!) would pick us up so we could all go together (Jan discovered the warehouse sale earlier this week and reported that she had gotten over 20 books, so we were all curious about it!).
Book Parade!
Aug 2nd
When I was in grade school, my favorite time of the year was Book Week. We had our DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time, and I remember we would goof around, literally dropping whatever we were holding and racing for the reading corner of the classroom. There was also one year when our class put on a “Little Mermaid” play, and I originally played Flounder, and then I had a wardrobe malfunction wherein my mishappen blue and yellow crepe paper costume fell to pieces during rehearsal (I had no idea how to make a fish costume — I stapled the crepe paper all around me and I think I ended up looking like Boo from Monsters, Inc. in her monster suit) so I ended up playing Scuttle (the seagull) at the play.
The part I looked forward to the most was the mini-book fair (yes, I was a bargain book hunter even way back in grade school) where some booksellers would lay out books on long tables and there were some really nice books to be had for as low as P5, P10, and P15. Every year I would get a hundred bucks from my dad to spend at Book Week, and then I saved my allowance for the week (I spent all of recess browsing through the books anyway!) so I could buy myself more books! I got a lot of books from those book fairs, including comic books (Peanuts, Family Circus, Grimmy, and Rose is Rose), trivia books, Sweet Valley books (of course!), and those little square origami books with free folding paper in them!
Anyway, this flood of memories was unleashed when I saw a bunch of photos on my brother’s computer. My brother Enzo teaches English and Religion classes at the Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation, an organization for poor, abandoned, at-risk, and homeless children. Last month was Book Month at the school, and they had a lot of book-reading activities, topped off with a book parade involving all their students. These kids don’t have very much, but check out the photos — they definitely prove that a little imagination goes a long, long way!!!
Fables and more
Jul 25th
Saturday was the Flips Flipping Pages Book Discussion on Bill Willingham’s Fables: Legends in Exile, led by our youngest-ever moderator, 13-year old Paolo.
I read my Fables deluxe edition back in March (I had it signed by James Jean in December) and I enjoyed it a lot, so I was looking forward to discussing it with the Flippers.
Happy National Children’s Book Day!
Jul 19th
Every third Tuesday of July, the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY), the organization committed to the development of children’s literature in the Philippines, leads the celebration of National Children’s Book Day, commemorating the anniversary of the publication of Jose Rizal’s The Monkey and the Turtle in Trubner’s Oriental Record in London.
Rizal’s The Monkey and the Turtle is said to be the first illustrated story for children. A draft of the story is scribbled on an album belonging to Juan Luna’s wife Paz Pardo de Tavera. The story is based on a Filipino fable about the silly monkey and a clever turtle and is an elementary school staple in the Philippines. In fact, one of my fondest memories of grade school is connected to this story. In second grade, this was our class’s piece for Sabayang Pagbigkas (class oratorical contest) on Linggo ng Wika, with half the class playing “Pagong” (turtle) and the other half playing “Matsing” (monkey). Hahaha, I was in the monkey group and I still remember the very emphatic “Tatadtarin kita nang pinong-pino!” (I will chop you into tiny pieces!).
Are you ready for this?
Jul 11th
The Manila International Book Fair is set on Sept. 15-19 at the SMX Convention Center! Woot! Woot! (*happydancing*)
Mark your calendars, bibliophiles (and start saving your shopping money), as the biggest and longest-running book fair in the Philippines turns 31 this year. For three decades now, MIBF has been a one-stop shop for local and foreign publishers, wholesalers, retailers, book lovers and collectors, librarians, authors, and publishers’ representatives. It has also continuously contributed to the reading awareness of the Filipino by being the venue for book launches, dialogues with readers, and other book-related activities that reach out to a wide audience.
Ladies and Gentlemen…
Jul 8th
… it’s time to break open those piggy banks.
Tomorrow Right now, a signed copy of Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games and a signed copy of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire will be are up for grabs in an online auction.
Update (13 Jul): The signed Hunger Games is currently at $61, GOF currently at $201. They’ve also got a signed copy of Meg Cabot’s How to be Popular at $30!
*insert crazy fangirl (me) screaming here!*
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