Reading something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue
Squee! Finally Book 4 of The 39 Clues series is here. I’ve been so excited to read this, after reviewing Maze of Bones and One False Note and The Sword Thief. I’m halfway through Beyond the Grave but I am reviewing it for Manila Bulletin so I won’t be able to post the review here just yet.
In the meantime, you’ll find ten things about the book beyond the cut. Don’t worry, no crucial spoilers!
Continue reading “Currently reading: Beyond the Grave (The 39 Clues Book 4)”
I’ve always wanted a way to establish my identity on my books. I usually scrawl my name and the date inside, but I’ve longed for a more “official” mark for a long time now, and I’ve grown tired of running out of book plates and stickers to label my books.
I thought of a rubber stamp, but I didn’t really want to mess with ink, and I was still not sold on the self-inking kind. And then one day, I mooched a book that had a dry seal on it, and I got the idea of having my own dry seal made for my library.
Luckily there was a dry seal maker next to the post office and I was finally able to get mine made yesterday.
The results? Here you go:
tsk tsk tsk… Bad news for Pinoy Book LoversHere’s what I got:
1) My third copy of I Capture the Castle, from Heather in Oregon. I am still choosing which one I’ll give Mika (my best friend), but I’m keeping two copies for myself… I just love this book!
2) The British kids edition of Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix, which completes my British set. I mooched it all the way from Switzerland, and the moocher Suprig (a real sweetheart!) also sent me some chocolate ladybugs, gummy hearts, and and Ovaltine bar! Yay.
and 3) an amazing smorgasbord from wired_lain in Japan (I just love mooching from her!): two Tarepanda books, a Japanese version of Howl’s Moving Castle, a penguin bookmark, a Laputa postcard, a sanrio stationery set, willy wonka fun dip, a goody bag filled with almond and cashew roca and some chocolates, a roller stamp, and… sweet potato Kitkat! Thanks so much!!!!
And here’s my version of packing light for my trip to the mountains: no hardcovers! Oh, and I also packed Peter Mayle’s A Dog’s Life, which I’ve already started. Hope I can make a dent in these….
I’ll be away for the long weekend with some Flipper friends, we’re soaking in some food, fun, nature and culture in the Mountain Province, and won’t be back til Monday. I doubt there’s internet there and phone signal’s iffy so I’ll be out of reach for a bit. Don’t worry, I’ve advanced some blog posts (including this one) so you’ll have something to read over the weekend.
Happy long weekend everyone! Squee!
… hehe, here’s the new and improved banner:
The actual contest went by in a blur to me, so I’m borrowing my cousin Dianne’s (she has her own book blog now too by the way, which recounts bargain book hunting adventures) recap of the event, and also her photos:
At exactly 3:30 PM, we returned to the venue and registered. Joel G was already there, together with one other non-Flipper contestant. We were offered frozen raspberry shakes from Bo’s Coffee (one of the sponsors of the contest), which we gladly accepted. As we slurped our yummy creamy raspberry shakes, more people started to file into the room. One of them was a strange lady with big curly hair who later introduced herself as Madam Dementia. Turns out she was the host of the contest.
The contest proper was supposed to start at 4 PM, and around this time, more or less 10 contestants had shown up. Other Flippers who participated were Joel G and Marie. As Madam Dementia started to explain the mechanics of the contest, Honey arrived, barely making it past the cut-off time. Due to the brevity of last month’s contest, Fully Booked decided to change the rules a bit. The contestants were seated in a circle and were to pick out numbers (corresponding to book-related questions) from a bowl. However, in contrast to last month’s “sudden death” rule (i.e. you fail to answer the question correctly, you’re eliminated), contestants could either skip the question or pass it to another contestant. Should the person decide to skip the question, he/she has to answer 2 questions correctly in the next round to avoid elimination. If the person decides to pass it instead, he/she selects another person to answer for him/her. But if that person gets the question wrong, both of them will be eliminated. Contestants can only use pass and skip once.
Marie answers a question
Honey’s turn
The funny thing was, despite Honey’s vast knowledge in all things bookish, she managed to draw questions regarding relatively unfamiliar territory – Harry Potter. Which was ironic because her downfall became Blooey’s saving grace. The same was true for Marie, who completely forgot the name of the street where the Dursleys lived. And so, after several nerve-racking rounds of questions about Harry Potter, Little Women (whoever created the questions was obviously a fan), The Count of Monte Cristo (ditto), Narnia, The Little Prince, Jane Eyre, Perfume (where the Flippers all laughed conspiratorially when Blooey was asked, “What is the one thing Jean-Baptiste Grenouille cannot smell?”), chick lit, popular thrillers, Pulitzer Prize winners, authors’ initials, pseudonyms and what not, Blooey and Honey made it to the Top Three.
There was a short break for everyone to catch their breath (the “sudden death” round lasted for about an hour). Afterwards, the Top Three contestants were each given white boards and markers. The rules were simple. Questions would be drawn by the judge and a point would be awarded for each correct answer. Whoever gets five points first wins the contest. The first question was drawn, and to Honey’s horror and Blooey’s delight, again, it’s Harry Potter-related (What was Lily Potter’s maiden name?). For the first round, only Blooey gets it right. The next question was about E.B. White, which all the contestants answered correctly. Another Harry Potter-related question pops up, (What is the title of J.K. Rowling’s late
st book?), which Blooey and Honey answer correctly. The final question, as luck would have it, was about Twilight. (What was the name of the book that was most often mentioned in Twilight?) When Blooey and Honey revealed their white boards, they had different answers. Honey answered, “Pride and Prejudice” and Blooey went for “Wuthering Heights”. In the end, Blooey had Heathcliff to thank as she was declared Book Geek of the month.
Lily Evans!
Tales of Beedle the Bard
I really wasn’t sure, but the gamble paid off!
Checking my answers…
The prize consisted of Fully Booked GCs worth P5,000, Outback GCs worth P750, plus a random book. Other contestants were also given random books as consolation prizes. Pictures were taken and congratulations were given out as Blooey was now eligible for the Book Geek finale this November. Meanwhile, Madam Dementia invited the other contestants to join next month’s contest, as they were all still eligible to win.
with Madame Dementia
With Beth and Honey, who were in the top three with me
Book geek!
Hahaha, I was so indebted to Harry Potter, I used part of my book geek winnings to buy another book for my collection. Watch out for tomorrow’s post :)