Reading something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue
I hope there are Harry Potter fans reading my blog, because I’m giving away a couple of authentic Harry Potter plushie keychains!
I’m not watching the upcoming movie — long story, let’s just say I have major issues with the films that prevent me from enjoying them — but I know half the world is looking forward to seeing it, so I’ll join the fanfare anyway.
When the Filipino Book Bloggers first met up back in September, I sorely regretted not being able to attend, so I was looking forward to attending the next one. Thankfully it was scheduled at a date that agreed with my schedule, and I was able to make it this time.
When the group was trying to decide on a venue, I suggested our BookMooch friend Triccie’s newly-opened store, Libreria. It seemed the perfect place for us to meet — it has enough space to hold us all, it serves good coffee but we wouldn’t have to struggle to get heard over the normal din of a busy coffeeshop, it’s relatively accessible to people from different parts of the metro, and best of all, we would be surrounded by books! I was glad the others were willing to give it a try.
I’m an office slash art supply junkie, and I must confess that whenever I hit the bookstore,I spend as much time in the supplies section as I do browsing books. And I end up carting out a bagful of supplies I don’t actually need — from yet another set of soft paintbrushes, or a new set of markers, or a nifty paper cutter — but I can’t seem to help myself!
Two supplies I really need to constantly replenish, however, are sticky tape (I’m partial to the Tartan brand) and post-its. I use, maybe, a roll of sticky tape a week for covering books (of course, I also use plastic cover), removing sticky price tags, and other random tasks (taping down a half-eaten bag of chips, labeling items in the fridge — I scrawl on the tape with a marker, etc), while I use post-its for marking passages I like in the books I’m reading and making notes about them, as well as putting up everyday reminders on my computer station at the office.
I write about sticky tape and post-its because I just read two books about them: Transparent Tape: Over 350 Super, Simple, and Surprising Uses You’ve Probably Never Thought Of by Vicki Lansky, and the Post-it book Ideas that Stick: 222 Ingenious, Creative, Practical, and Simply Preposterous Ways of Using Post-it Notes.
I’m working double time on my A-Z challenge, as I only have until the end of the year to finish it. I’ve done 14 books so far, and I figured I better make a serious dent in the list so I can finish the challenge by December.
I’ve finished two more books for the challenge so far this month, and am lining up more in the coming weeks. A is for Margaret Atwood’s The Tent, a collection of short works, while J is for Kate Jacobs’ Comfort Food.
