Reading something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue
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Outrageous — the Mockingjay Leak!
Aug 14th
I just came home from a planning meeting with Scholastic Philippines and NWA for the Mockingjay launch and was distressed by the news that someone has already gotten ahold of a bootleg copy!
Grrr. I just have to vent. HG fans all over the world are in an uproar, and I am itching to do some bodily harm to that evil schmeevil slimeball. Grrrrr. It’s bad enough that he got his paws on it, but he just had to gloat about it on the internet. Despicable! Utterly despicable! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. May a thousand trackerjackers attack you, and if you post any spoilers, may the muttations chomp on your flesh and may President Snow breathe heavily on your neck forever.
Suzanne Collins meets the Flippers!
Aug 13th
Remember a few months back when I blogged about our book club Flips Flipping Pages sending a gift to Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins?
Thanks to our friends from Scholastic, we were able to send Suzanne Collins a miniature Philippine flag and a photo from our April Hunger Games book discussion.
But wait — the story doesn’t end there! I opened my email today and found this awesome photo in my inbox:
It’s the Balancing Cat in the Hat!
Aug 11th
Last Sunday, I was pushing the shopping cart to the checkout counter of the supermarket when my brother intercepts me and leads me to the toy section, where he points to a stack of boxes at the end of one row. He knows I collect book-related memorabilia (mostly toys) and spotted a great bargain for me: The Balancing Cat in the Hat for the super low price of P50 (a little over USD 1)!
I was already gleeful from my successful book-shopping expedition, and this discovery was a perfect ending to that day. We couldn’t wait to get home and try it out.
The Fire and the Hornet’s Nest
Aug 10th
Last week, I decided to finished reading the rest of the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson.
I found the first book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo an engaging read — it took a while to get into the story but absolutely compelling when it hit the groove. I admit I was a bit apprehensive about the rest of the series, because I kept hearing opposite opinions about it. One side emphatically insisted the series gets better in books 2 and 3, the other side insisted, with equal gusto, that the first book was the best of the bunch.
I liked the first book enough that I thought I’d miss out if the next two books did turn out to be better, so I went ahead and got myself the next two books in the series. There were no more trade paperbacks available anywhere (my TGWTDT s a trade paperback) so I settled on the UK mass market paperbacks, which looked like they had better paper and binding than the first, and they’ve held up pretty well through the first reading — spine creasing not so pronounced — although now they’re crying out for me to “upgrade” them. I hope bookstores would restock the trade paperbacks; I don’t know how long I can resist getting the nice hardcover set tempting me from the bookstore window!
The Really Tiny Book Light
May 4th
Reading in the dark has not been the same for me since my trusty Harry Potter Lumos Lightwedge went out of commission — two of the batteries have leaked shut down both of the narrow terminals and I still haven’t found a way to take them out without destroying the device. I’ve contacted the Lightwedge people and they said it’s outside the warranty and they don’t even make the Lumos anymore.
In my search for a substitute, I came across “The Really Tiny Book Light” at National Book Store and decided to get the Tiny Pink so I could get some nighttime reading done once again, especially since the past two months have been crammed full with out of town business trips.
Undergoing Maintenance
Apr 21st
Hi everyone!
Please bear with me for the moment as I’m currently fixing the layout for the blog. My old theme got corrupted and so I’m using a temporary theme while I find a new one.
I’m also buried under a ton of work at the moment, but I’ve got some posts lined up already; I just have to work the layout first before I post anything new.
XXXOOO,
Sumthinblue
Mina (Marie Kiraly)
Feb 4th
One of the books I had to read in 2009 to complete my book club’s Diversity challenge was something I kept putting off until the last weeks of December: a Dracula spinoff entitled Mina by Marie Kiraly (Book #234 of 2010).
It was a partner-recommended book and not something I’d pick up on my own — I’m wary of literary adaptations and I cringe at the thought of paranormal bodice-slashers. Even though I’d mooched two copies of the book (one hardcover and one trade paperback), I had my apprehensions about it.
But the deadline was looming, and I’d run out of reprieves, so I decided that I might as well get it done with.
A Louisa May Alcott Christmas
Jan 2nd
“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.
“It’s so dreadful to be poor!” sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.
“I don’t think it’s fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all,” added little Amy, with an injured sniff.
“We’ve got Father and Mother, and each other,” said Beth contentedly from her corner.
The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Jo said sadly, “We haven’t got Father, and shall not have him for a long time.” She didn’t say “perhaps never,” but each silently added it, thinking of Father far away, where the fighting was.
Who can forget these first few lines from the opening chapter of the much-loved classic, Little Women?
Louisa May Alcott really has a knack for writing Christmas stories, and I discovered a couple of them this week (erm, while getting my hair done at the salon) — The Quiet Little Woman, and The Abbot’s Ghost (books 204-205 of 2009) .
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