Bookmarked! – Page 71 – Reading something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue

Tall Story (and an NCBD giveaway! — EXTENDED)

NOTE: We've had some downtime due to technical difficulties with the webhost (very special thanks to Melo Villareal for getting me back online), I'm extending the giveaway to Wednesday, July 24, 12 midnight, Manila time! Thank you so much for those who alerted me while I was out of town, and thank you for patiently waiting until the site came back up again.

It's National Children's Book Day once more, and I'm celebrating with this post on Candy Gourlay's award-winning book, “Tall Story,” and a giveaway: a signed copy of the book!

I've mentioned Candy Gourlay more than once in this blog, but I realize I've never featured her novel, “Tall Story” and I was thinking about today's NCBD (and the hours ticking until it ends) and figured this was the best way to catch up on the festivities.

Published in 2011 by David Fickling books (Philippine edition by Cacho Publishing, distributed by Anvil Publishing), “Tall Story” has bagged the SCBWI Crystal Kite Awards for Europe in 2011, the Philippine National Children's Book Prize in 2012, and has been nominated for numerous other awards.

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Manila Noir (Part 2)

After the interview with Jessica Hagedorn, I headed over to the National Book Store flagship in Glorietta 1 for the “Manila Noir” launch.

Luckily, we got there early, as a huge crowd turned out for the launch that afternoon. Not only did the event showcase “Manila Noir” editor Jessica Hagedorn; a good number of contributors also graced the event, including Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo, Rosario Cruz-Lucero, Jose Dalisay, Lourd de Veyra, Angelo Lacuesta, and R. Zamora Linmark.

As promised, here’s Part 2 of my Manila Noir reportage:

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Jessica Hagedorn on Manila Noir (Part 1)

I’d been looking forward to the launch of the anthology, “Manila Noir” for weeks, not only because I enjoyed reading the book, but also because a good number of the contributors were slated to appear, and it was a rare opportunity for a spectacular gathering of Filipino writers.

“Manila Noir” is a collection of stories depicting the city as an ideal setting for the noir genre. It is one volume of Akashic Books’ Noir series, an acclaimed series of original noir anthologies set in different cities all over the world, locally published by Anvil Publishing. “Manila Noir” is edited by Jessica Hagedorn, with stories by Lourd de Veyra, F.H. Batacan, Angelo Lacuesta, Jose Dalisay, R. Zamora Linmark, Lysley Tenorio, Rosario Cruz-Lucero, Budjette Tan & Kajo Baldisimo, Marianne Villanueva, and many more.

Before the launch at the National Book Store flagship in Glorietta 1, though, I had a lovely chat about the book (and other things) with Jessica Hagedorn herself, over at the Writer’s Bar in Raffles Fairmont. Below is a transcript of the interview.

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Reliving Rizal

In the spirit of Jose Rizal’s birthday, here’s a bit of a flashback to December, when our book club Flips Flipping Pages celebrated its annual Christmas/ year-end party with a Noli Me Tangere theme.

We Flippers just got back from our annual “summer” outing this weekend, and I’m feeling nostalgic as a lot of our favorite FFP memories resurfaced at various points of the trip. The book club hits the six-year mark in a few months, and having been a member for just as long, it’s nothing short of an amazing experience.

Based on my past reportage of Flipper parties, you’ve probably guessed how much we love parties (and bookish themes! and food! and costumes!). But there are quite a few Rizal enthusiasts in the group, so the Noli theme was embraced with much fanfare.

Here’s a recap of the festivities, in lovely photos by Flipper photographer extraordinaire Rhett de Jesus.

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Finding Battlestar Galactica

Earlier this year, I finally watched the reimagined science fiction series “Battlestar Galactica,” brought about by hours and hours (read: sessions until 4 am) spent playing the boardgame based on the show.

I don’t think there’s any other show that’s drawn so much emotion from me. All throughout the episodes I found myself alternating upon a gamut of emotions: gnawing on my fist from the gut-wrenching moral dilemmas, crying at the utter hopelessness of the situation, heaving a sigh of relief at the many close calls, bemoaning yet another crisis, and rejoicing at the triumphs of the characters in the show.

After I had finished all four seasons (and the webisodes), I was having a severe case of withdrawal from the series, and while counting the days until I could have a “debriefing” with friends, I was surprised to find this book at National Book Store: “Finding Battlestar Galactica: An Unauthorized Guide,” by Lynette Porter, David Lavery, and Hillary Robson.

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