Year: 2010

Another bunch of bookmarks!

A few months back I spotted a bunch of bookmarks at my favorite bargain bookstore, and practically bought out the stock. It also gave me a hankering to start collecting bookmarks, so now I’ve got a small collection going.  (Ironically, I just keep them in a fancy box and don’t actually use them as bookmarks because I know I’ll end up losing them!)

A couple of weeks ago, to my delight, the bargain bookstore had a fresh batch of Antioch bookmarks (the tasseled ones!) on hand, so I got a whole new bunch of them!

Here they are:

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The Magic of Maps

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of joining a media tour at the exhibit “Pen, Paper and Bookmaking: The Life of Carlos Quirino” at the Yuchengco Museum.

Carlos Quirino, National Artist for Historical Literature, is a writer, scholar, sportsman, and bibliophile who made invaluable contributions to the study of Philippine history.

2010 marks Quirino’s birth centennial, and in celebration of this auspicious event, three erstwhile out of print Carlos Quirino books are lined up for release by the Vibal Foundation: Philippine Cartography, Old Manila, and Filipinos at War.

First out is the third edition  Philippine Cartography, a landmark history of Philippine maps and their cartographers, considered as Quirino’s magnum opus. First published in 1959, the book traces the evolution of the Philippine map, from a speck in the Pacific Ocean to its current iconography.

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Events! Events!

It’s a busy time for book events in the metro right now, and I’m tickled pink with excitement.

First off is a project I’ve kept under wraps for the past couple of months: Fully Booked’s Moleskine Passions Launch & “Share the Loves of Your Life” Exhibition, where I was invited to be one of the contributors for the Book category.

Moleskine unveils Moleskine Passions, a new thrilling collection of journals that celebrates passions as a way of life with a new inspiring exhibition: “Share the loves of your life” with Moleskine Passions.

Over 150 specialists and celebrities in Asia share the loves of their life and reveal their creativity through notes, drawing, clipping…The passions notebooks created by the participants are showcased in over 60 spots in 12 Asian cities.

Fully Booked brings part of the inspiring works to the audience in the Philippines. Artists and specialists from the Philippines were  invited to share their passions on the new Moleskine notebooks, including  Pastry Chef Aileen A. Anastacio (Recipe), Aaron Palileo (Wine), Blooey Singson (Book), Chef Bruce Lim (Recipe), Elian Habayeb (Music), Ines Cabarrus (Wine), Jeannie E. Javelosa (Wellness), Johnny Alegre (Music), Lyle Sacris (Film), Waise Azimi (Film), Yvette Tan (Book),  and Agu Paiso (Wellness).

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Flash Reviews: Book Trivia

(I’m back! Sorry for the lack of new entries last week — was on a business trip up north, and there simply wasn’t time to blog. Here’s an entry I’ve wanted to do for a long time now, and will (hopefully) resume regular blogging this week.)

If you’re joining a book trivia contest (like I did), or if you’re a sucker for trivia (like I am), or you simply love books (like I do), trivia books about books are great for cramming in some literary trivia and finding more good books to read.

In the couple of weeks leading up to the Ultimate Book Geek finals, I managed to pore through a bunch of literary trivia books, and they were a big help in the contest. Here’s a quick run down of the books I read, in capsule reviews, as they’re just too many to review individually!

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Reading in the Dark

I’m one of those people who like reading in the dark — there’s just something so much fun about curling up in bed and sending yourself off to la-la land with your bedtime reading. And then there are the real flashlight-worthy books: the books you read that scare you silly or excite you almost to the point of apoplexy but you’re but unable to put down because they’re so fantastically good that you end up taking the book under the safety of your blanket and reading with your flashlight on.

When I was younger, I was forbidden to stay up late reading (because given a choice I wouldn’t sleep) so I smuggled  a penlight under the blankets. Now that I’m older, my mom can’t do anything about it (although she grumbles from time to time), so I’ve got all sorts of book lights on hand — a Lumos Lightwedge (waaah, currently out of commission, unless I can find a way to dislodge the battery that’s stuck to the terminal of the narrow battery chute — suggestions, anyone?), an LED mini-lamp, a clip-on lamp, and a squeeze-powered LED flashlight — so I can read all I want, even when the lights are out.

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