Reading something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue
I’m writing a newspaper review of The 39 Clues book 7: The Viper’s Nest by Peter Lerangis, but I just finished it tonight (I couldn’t put it down, even while getting my hair done at the salon) and I’m dying to spill the beans on what happens in this one, but of course I won’t, so here’s a sneak peek instead.
(Spoiler free sneak peek after the cut).
Squee! It’s finally out — my review section for a local travel magazine!
I now review travel books for the bi-monthly publication TravelPlus magazine, and I’ve finally seen it in print, in the current (January-February 2010) issue. The section is entitled “Reads and Views” and it’s on the back page of the magazine.
Here, I review Connecting Flights and A Year in Provence. I also have a section on Book Gadgets, and I feature the ThumbThing (maan, I do not know where I last set it down… I haven’t seen it in months!).
This is the first issue I appear in, and I’ll be writing for the succeeding issues as well (woot!), which means I’ve got to stock up on travel books (and read more of them as well).
Yay! Thank you to consulting editor Chris Datol for getting me to write for TravelPlus.
Get your copy at bookstores and magazine stands nationwide, and watch out for the next issue, where I review a cookbook, a flash fiction anthology, a travel mystery, and another book gadget. I also have another book review (full length this time) for TravelPlus’ sister magazine, ZenHealth in its March-April issue.
Flipper friend Gege started the A-Z reading challenge this year (check out the full mechanics here), and I’m participating, because it’s a fun way to start reading authors I haven’t read before, and make a substantial dent in my TBR.
Basically, the objective is to read 26 authors with surnames from A to Z between January 1 to December 31, 2010. The more obsessive-compulsive participants are reading in alphabetical order, but I’ve always gone against the rules when it comes to reading so I’m striking off the names on my list as the mood strikes, until I finish the list off before the year ends.
There’s been a lull in my blogging in the last couple of weeks, as my maternal grandfather, Lolo Jaime (lolo is grandfather in Filipino), had a massive stroke, and finally passed away last Sunday, at the age of 89.
This is the first death of a grandparent that I’ve experienced (my paternal grandfather and maternal grandmother died when I was too young to understand), and there is something about my Lolo’s passing that makes me feel as if I’ve lost a part of my childhood.
Even though I saw my Lolo only once or twice a year (he lives in my parents’ provincial hometown in Isabela, Negros Occidental, a plane ride and two-hour drive away), we talked frequently on the phone, and I had a special bond with him — I inherited his artistic inclinations, and he was my biggest fan.
I had a feeling his time was drawing near when we got the news that he got a stroke two weeks ago, and I was preparing a special picture book roundup for him, except that death got to him first, and for the past few days I couldn’t bring myself to write this piece without breaking down.
But he would have wanted me to keep on writing — he loved my writing as much as my art — so in honor of my Lolo, I’m doing the year’s first picture book roundup, featuring the books Brown Paper Bear by Neil Reed; Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman, illus. by Stephen Gammel; and You’re Only Old Once by Dr. Seuss.
(Will resume working off the 2009 backlog after this post.)
Last month, I decided to reread my Doraemon comics, both for some stress relief and in preparation for meeting the cute and cuddly robo-cat himself!
I first watched Doraemon on local tv (dubbed in Filipino), back in high school, because it was shown around the time I got home, before the local news. My brother was crazy about the cartoons so I couldn’t switch channels, but before long, I was hooked on Doraemon as well.
I read my cousin Chickoy’s copy of the comics (that he got in Bangkok) some years back, but I was eventually able to get some volumes through a BookMoocher friend in Japan, wired_lain.