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What’s on your desk Wednesday
Jul 15th
I’ve been tagged twice for What’s on your desk Wednesday — once by Vanessa last month and by Peter last week so I am finally doing it tonight, because I’m really swamped and don’t have the luxury of time to finish the next review I am in the middle of composing (or the twelve more I have to write)…
So here goes!
What’s on your desk Wednesday? is a weekly book blog meme hosted by Sassy Brit of Alternative-Read.com, involving taking a photo of your desk or where you stack your books/TBR pile as it is (and swear no tidying!) and then blogging about it (click on the link to Sassy Brit for full mechanics).
I’ve been hedging because my desk is a mess, especially right now because I’m working on some book illustrations and have virtually no time to tidy up or to write as many reviews as I normally do and read on top of all that too.
(Warning to those viewing from the home page: The photo is behind the cut because it’s kind of scary, haha.
Sure you’re up to it? Well then take a deep breath, and click on the MORE button, but don’t blame me — the instructions say no tidying!)
In Remembrance of Botong
Jul 10th
National Artist for Visual Arts Carlos "Botong" Francisco. Photo courtesy of Vibal Foundation.
Yesterday This week, I went on a media tour to Angono, Rizal, touted to be the “Art Capital of the Philippines.”
Angono has produced two National Artists, namely Carlos “Botong” Francisco (for visual art) and Lucio San Pedro (for music), and several well-known artists such as Nemiranda, the Blanco family of painters, and Perdigon. In recent years, younger generations of artists have emerged in Angono and art galleries and studios are a familiar sight in this municipality.
The subject of our tour was Angono’s most famous son, Botong Francisco, best known for his sprawling murals (some up to 200 feet!) that are a familiar sight to Filipinos as a lot of them are displayed in prominent institutions. His masterpieces, which depict historical scenes and Filipino communities, include the Malacañang mural “Fiesta”, “Blood Compact” (Yuchengco Museum / RCBC Building), “First Mass at Limasawa” (National Museum), “The Martyrdom of Rizal” (Fort Santiago), and “Stations of the Cross” (Far Eastern University).
Currently reading: Beyond the Grave (The 39 Clues Book 4)
Jun 5th
Squee! Finally Book 4 of The 39 Clues series is here. I’ve been so excited to read this, after reviewing Maze of Bones and One False Note and The Sword Thief. I’m halfway through Beyond the Grave but I am reviewing it for Manila Bulletin so I won’t be able to post the review here just yet.
In the meantime, you’ll find ten things about the book beyond the cut. Don’t worry, no crucial spoilers!
More >
Making the mark
Jun 3rd
I’ve always wanted a way to establish my identity on my books. I usually scrawl my name and the date inside, but I’ve longed for a more “official” mark for a long time now, and I’ve grown tired of running out of book plates and stickers to label my books.
I thought of a rubber stamp, but I didn’t really want to mess with ink, and I was still not sold on the self-inking kind. And then one day, I mooched a book that had a dry seal on it, and I got the idea of having my own dry seal made for my library.
Luckily there was a dry seal maker next to the post office and I was finally able to get mine made yesterday.
The results? Here you go:
Yay!
The Great Book Blockade of 2009
May 9th
When my book club friends and I came back from our trip to the Mountain Province, one of the first things that caught our attention was the issue now known as The Great Book Blockade of 2009, brought to public attention by Robin Hemley.
tsk tsk tsk… Bad news for Pinoy Book Lovers
tsk tsk tsk… Bad news for Pinoy Book LoversIn my mailbox
Apr 30th
I dropped by the post office today, to pick up some packages before I set off to Sagada.
Here’s what I got:
1) My third copy of I Capture the Castle, from Heather in Oregon. I am still choosing which one I’ll give Mika (my best friend), but I’m keeping two copies for myself… I just love this book!
2) The British kids edition of Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix, which completes my British set. I mooched it all the way from Switzerland, and the moocher Suprig (a real sweetheart!) also sent me some chocolate ladybugs, gummy hearts, and and Ovaltine bar! Yay.
and 3) an amazing smorgasbord from wired_lain in Japan (I just love mooching from her!): two Tarepanda books, a Japanese version of Howl’s Moving Castle, a penguin bookmark, a Laputa postcard, a sanrio stationery set, willy wonka fun dip, a goody bag filled with almond and cashew roca and some chocolates, a roller stamp, and… sweet potato Kitkat! Thanks so much!!!!
And here’s my version of packing light for my trip to the mountains: no hardcovers! Oh, and I also packed Peter Mayle’s A Dog’s Life, which I’ve already started. Hope I can make a dent in these….
I’ll be away for the long weekend with some Flipper friends, we’re soaking in some food, fun, nature and culture in the Mountain Province, and won’t be back til Monday. I doubt there’s internet there and phone signal’s iffy so I’ll be out of reach for a bit. Don’t worry, I’ve advanced some blog posts (including this one) so you’ll have something to read over the weekend.
Happy long weekend everyone! Squee!
Book Geekiness
Apr 28th
This is a long over-due post on my Book Gook Geek experience over at Fully Booked last month.
… hehe, here’s the new and improved banner:
A bunch of Flipper friends and I joined the Book Geek challenge, our second time actually, because we are suckers for book trivia and free books and a shot at P5000 worth of Fully Booked gift certificates (just under $100).
The actual contest went by in a blur to me, so I’m borrowing my cousin Dianne’s (she has her own book blog now too by the way, which recounts bargain book hunting adventures) recap of the event, and also her photos:
Blooey and I arrived at Fully Booked High Street at around 3 PM. We went straight to the fourth floor, only to find the venue completely empty (which was unsurprising, since we were about 30 minutes early). We decided to kill time by browsing around and gazing longingly at books we would never buy at full price. I kept asking Blooey whether she was anxious or excited, and she just shrugged and replied that she was “ok”. I think I was a lot more anxious than her.
At exactly 3:30 PM, we returned to the venue and registered. Joel G was already there, together with one other non-Flipper contestant. We were offered frozen raspberry shakes from Bo’s Coffee (one of the sponsors of the contest), which we gladly accepted. As we slurped our yummy creamy raspberry shakes, more people started to file into the room. One of them was a strange lady with big curly hair who later introduced herself as Madam Dementia. Turns out she was the host of the contest.
The contest proper was supposed to start at 4 PM, and around this time, more or less 10 contestants had shown up. Other Flippers who participated were Joel G and Marie. As Madam Dementia started to explain the mechanics of the contest, Honey arrived, barely making it past the cut-off time. Due to the brevity of last month’s contest, Fully Booked decided to change the rules a bit. The contestants were seated in a circle and were to pick out numbers (corresponding to book-related questions) from a bowl. However, in contrast to last month’s “sudden death” rule (i.e. you fail to answer the question correctly, you’re eliminated), contestants could either skip the question or pass it to another contestant. Should the person decide to skip the question, he/she has to answer 2 questions correctly in the next round to avoid elimination. If the person decides to pass it instead, he/she selects another person to answer for him/her. But if that person gets the question wrong, both of them will be eliminated. Contestants can only use pass and skip once.
Honey, me, and JoelG
This newly implemented rule was shamelessly abused the moment the first question was asked. The contestant was asked, “What was the crime in ‘Crime and Punishment’?” She decided to pass the question to another contestant, who also decided to pass it to the person sitting beside him, who passed it to Joel G, who passed it eventually to Honey. Just imagine the absurdity of the situation – 5 people faced elimination with just the first question. Luckily, Honey – the Classics expert/book lover extraordinaire/Literature goddess – hit the nail on the head by answering with, “Murder”. Several people remained in the contest (even several rounds later) thanks to her.
Marie answers a question
Honey’s turn
The funny thing was, despite Honey’s vast knowledge in all things bookish, she managed to draw questions regarding relatively unfamiliar territory – Harry Potter. Which was ironic because her downfall became Blooey’s saving grace. The same was true for Marie, who completely forgot the name of the street where the Dursleys lived. And so, after several nerve-racking rounds of questions about Harry Potter, Little Women (whoever created the questions was obviously a fan), The Count of Monte Cristo (ditto), Narnia, The Little Prince, Jane Eyre, Perfume (where the Flippers all laughed conspiratorially when Blooey was asked, “What is the one thing Jean-Baptiste Grenouille cannot smell?”), chick lit, popular thrillers, Pulitzer Prize winners, authors’ initials, pseudonyms and what not, Blooey and Honey made it to the Top Three.
There was a short break for everyone to catch their breath (the “sudden death” round lasted for about an hour). Afterwards, the Top Three contestants were each given white boards and markers. The rules were simple. Questions would be drawn by the judge and a point would be awarded for each correct answer. Whoever gets five points first wins the contest. The first question was drawn, and to Honey’s horror and Blooey’s delight, again, it’s Harry Potter-related (What was Lily Potter’s maiden name?). For the first round, only Blooey gets it right. The next question was about E.B. White, which all the contestants answered correctly. Another Harry Potter-related question pops up, (What is the title of J.K. Rowling’s late
st book?), which Blooey and Honey answer correctly. The final question, as luck would have it, was about Twilight. (What was the name of the book that was most often mentioned in Twilight?) When Blooey and Honey revealed their white boards, they had different answers. Honey answered, “Pride and Prejudice” and Blooey went for “Wuthering Heights”. In the end, Blooey had Heathcliff to thank as she was declared Book Geek of the month.
Lily Evans!
Tales of Beedle the Bard
I really wasn’t sure, but the gamble paid off!
Checking my answers…
The prize consisted of Fully Booked GCs worth P5,000, Outback GCs worth P750, plus a random book. Other contestants were also given random books as consolation prizes. Pictures were taken and congratulations were given out as Blooey was now eligible for the Book Geek finale this November. Meanwhile, Madam Dementia invited the other contestants to join next month’s contest, as they were all still eligible to win.
with Madame Dementia
With Beth and Honey, who were in the top three with me
Book geek!
There you go. The final competition is in November, hopefully I can cram more book trivia in by then.
Hahaha, I was so indebted to Harry Potter, I used part of my book geek winnings to buy another book for my collection. Watch out for tomorrow’s post :)
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