Book Events – Page 46

All about Seuss

catindhat

Last Saturday, our book club Flips Flipping Pages held our July book discussion on one of my childhood favorites, Dr. Seuss. I’d been looking forward to this discussion because we haven’t tackled any children’s books yet in a year of book discussions, and I was part moderator of this one, where I took on the discussion of the art of Dr. Seuss.

As a child, I was fortunate enough to attend a school with a principal that had special interest in children’s books, and so our library was well-stocked with the best of them. I remember discovering the Dr. Seuss section when I was in first grade, and I spent many happy hours in the library — well, happy for me, not for the maid who waited for me for hours at the gate, because I didn’t want to go home yet so I evaded her for as long as I can. Hehe.

For this particular discussion, I read three Dr. Seuss books (books #114-116 of 2009): How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss; Seuss, the whole Seuss, and nothing but the Seuss: A Visual Biography of Theodore Seuss Geisel by Charles D. Cohen; and Hooray for Diffendoofer Day by Dr. Seuss, Jack Prelutsky, and Lane Smith.

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One for Tomas (Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats)

I love cats. I like dogs, and animals in general, but I love cats most of all (shh, don’t tell my dog!).

Having raised two cats from birth (and feeding several other neighborhood strays), I find that cats are one of the smartest creatures (and yes, smarter than dogs, as I’ve raised more than my share of those too) on earth.

They’re clean, they’re naturally housebroken, and they’re low-maintenance. They won’t give their loyalty freely, but they make the most loyal and affectionate companions when they do.

And I love how easily they learn even without training. While I love our dog as much as my cats, my cats can open doors, climb onto bed with me and pull a blanket over themselves, use their litterbox and keep it clean (our dog has a spraying problem), and get up and down the stairs faster than lightning (our dog forgets how to go up and down the stairs like every other hour).

Last year, my cat Tomas, an orange mackerel tabby that I raised since he was a kitten, passed away due to kidney failure and subsequent cardiac arrest (I really suspect it was canned cat food tainted with melamine), and it was one of the hardest things I ever had to get through in my life.

I got a lot of cat books since then, including a beautiful copy of 99 Lives: Cats in History, Legend, and Literature, that was a present from fellow book lover Triccie. I still can’t get myself to finish reading that book (because I end up bawling), but I was able to find another cat book to cheer me up: Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot (book #112 for 2009).

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What’s on your desk Wednesday

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!)

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In Remembrance of Botong

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).

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The Adobo Book

I must admit that I am one of the few people who are not fond of the Filipino dish adobo. I do eat it, but I don’t really enjoy it, and I think I know why — it’s one of the most recyclable dishes in Filipino cuisine because it keeps so well, and I am a person whose taste buds have a very short attention span. I don’t like repeating viands in subsequent meals, and when there’s adobo at home it does tend to be appear frequently on the table for so many days. Adobo was also a mainstay in our family excursions – whether it’s a day at the beach, or the times we rode a Superferry (16 hours) to Bacolod or Iloilo when I was young). It was also standard baon (lunchbox) fare, and I specifically remember that I had a packed lunch of adobo during all the college entrance exams I took.

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