This post is dedicated to the victims of the election massacre that took place in Maguindanao.

I was supposed to read another book to wrap up my World War II Challenge, but that will probably have to wait until next month, as I found another couple of books for this Challenge, lent to me by my book club friend Mike (thank you, Mike!).

I’ve only really started venturing into graphic novels recently but the critically-acclaimed Maus by Art Spiegelman is  something I’ve always been interested in, although I haven’t seen it in the local book stores.  While I’ve been acquainted with Art Spiegelman’s work in the Little Lit series, I’ve always wanted to read his masterpiece.

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Growing up, one of the most read books on my shelves was a well-thumbed copy of Johann Wyss’ Swiss Family Robinson. It was one of those cheap, watered down illustrated classic editions, but it provided me many long hours of entertainment as I fantasized about what I would do if I were shipwrecked on an exotic island.

That old book has long been missing — I think it was donated to a book drive, and I sorely missed it, so I’d been looking for a nice replacement for the longest time.

Last year, at one of my bargain book haunts (the Book Sale branch in Mall of Asia) I was able to unearth an exquisite Everyman’s Library Classic edition, with a cloth bound, gilded cover, a gold bookmark ribbon, vintage endpapers, and lovely illustrations by Louis Rhead! The best part? It was only P90 (less than $2)!

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