Category: Author Feature

David Macaulay roundup

 

I thought I’d break this blogging fast with a nice roundup, featuring books by the prolific, award-winning author-illustrator David Macaulay!

I discovered David Macaulay back in college, when my illustration teacher showed us the Caldecott-winning Cathedral (which I read along with Pillars of the Earth), and I filed him away in my mental book wishlist. Years later, I lucked out on Black and White and Cathedral while trawling through bargain bins, and I’ve been fascinated by his work ever since.

Lately I’ve been really lucky, as Flipper friend (and hatter extraordinaire) Marie got me a couple David Macaulay books for our annual FFP Kris Kringle, and I’ve scored some more titles during my frequent bookstore raids, so I’ve got a little collection going. On top of the two titles already in my collection, I’ve now got: the storybooks Baaa, Shortcut, and Angelo, and the architecture books Mill, Pyramid, Unbuilding, and Mosque.

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Sunday with Lauren Oliver

It was a damp and dreary afternoon last Sunday, but not for me, and certainly not for the droves of fans who trooped to Powerbooks Greenbelt to get their books signed by New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver.

I had set off to finish four of Lauren Oliver’s books as soon as I learned I was scheduled to interview her: Liesl and Po, Before I Fall, Delirium, and Pandemonium. Liesl and Po I finished early on, but my immediate to-be-read list kept piling up and I couldn’t hack away at it fast enough — I couldn’t put down A Feast for Crows (ASOIAF has kept me glued to the pages for the past couple of months, but that’s another story you’ll read about on this blog soon enough) and I had to finish A House of Mirth for this month’s FFP book discussion (and again, another story I owe you). I had started the first few chapters of Before I Fall, but it wasn’t until Saturday night that I finally got to settle into the novel, and I have to tell you, it was so phenomenal I lost sleep over it (review soon, too!)!

I woke up late on Sunday morning, started reading Delirium, and before I knew it I was already reaching for Pandemonium and finished it in record time to meet Lauren Oliver, who was somewhat flabbergasted that I actually finished devoured all three books in less than 24 hours (hehe).

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Numbers, The Chaos, and Rachel Ward


I read Numbers last year and was highly intrigued about the sequel, The Chaos, the second book in the Numbers trilogy. Being invited to join the live chat with author Rachel Ward at the Manila International Book Fair presented a golden opportunity to read the book, so I set out to finish it in time for the event.

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The one with the “Other Yates”

One of the highlights of this year’s Manila International Book Fair for me was meeting Alexander Yates, author of the novel Moondogs.

I’d started Moondogs some days before I was scheduled to interview him, but it was quite a hectic book fair  for me (lurking in the bargain bins did not help!) and I came to over a hundred pages by the time I sat down to do the interview.

But the hundred pages were enough to capture my attention. It was quite intriguing tale thus far: a kidnapping plot involving an evil rooster, a villainous cab driver, and a rich American businessman; a US Embassy officer leading a secret life; and a highly talented (if ragtag) special operations unit — all in one very familiar setting: the Philippines.

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Dinner with Samantha Sotto

After I finished reading Before Ever After, I immediately requested an interview with author Samantha Sotto, because I enjoyed the novel so much.

I’m glad her crazy week had room for me, because it was such a pleasure to meet her!

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