Return to Riverdale

I spent the last few days in bed, laid down with a nasty throat infection, and on top of the cocktail of meds I was taking, my mom (who thinks I am wasting away) gave me this vitamin that made me alternate between falling asleep and chowing down like I hadn’t eaten in a week. Suffice it to say I did not get much reading done — other than this: The Best of Archie Comics, because Archie comics have been a sick day staple since I was a kid.

 I had not picked up a new Archie in ages (I have a bunch of raggedy ones, read many many times! And it was the last day of the cut-price sale!) and I was hit by a sudden bout of nostalgia.

Archie comics were a huge part of my childhood. They were all the rage in school, and whenever anyone had a new Archie comic, it would get passed on from girl to girl, right under our teachers’ noses.

In 90’s grade school, comics weren’t exactly approved reading material for Catholic schoolgirls, and possession of one can earn you either a disapproving stare, or worse, confiscation of the comics you saved your weekly allowance (then alternating on Sweet Valley Twins, BOP magazine and MAD magazine) for.

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A bookworm in Hong Kong, Part 2

As promised, here’s the post about my marathon trawling of secondhand bookstores in the Central District of Hong Kong.

On the itinerary my sisters planned, I had the Central expedition moved from Sunday to Tuesday, because I knew the stores weren’t open on Sundays. The downside of it was that we’d come from Disneyland and I was lugging half my luggage and a big bag of Disneyland souvenirs with me. I left the sibs at IFC mall and armed with the street maps in the appendix of my trusty guidebook (and my cousin Dianne’s instructions).

My older sisters told me I only had a couple of hours, and I knew that wasn’t ample time to browse, especially because I had to locate the spots first, but I really wanted to scope the stores out so I could blog about them, at the very least. I was right in that, as I spent most of my time surveying the streets, ended up scanning the shelves at each stop, and then went back to meet my siblings empty-handed. But I have notes for future visits (hopefully with people who understand my passion for books!), and I hope you’ll find them useful, too, if you ever find yourself book hunting in Hong Kong.

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A bookworm in Hong Kong, Part 1

I was clearing space on my laptop tonight, and I realized I haven’t properly blogged about my vacation in Hong Kong a few months back, other than that Winnie the Pooh ride and the Little Prince ceramic cup I got from the airport.

The months have flown by in a blur — I can’t believe August is ending! But because I’d give anything to get away right now (I need this upcoming long weekend to recharge), here’s a photoblog of my trip.

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V for Vendetta

News of the recent events in London sent shivers down my spine — I read Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s V for Vendetta a few months back, and while one is fact and the other fiction, I couldn’t help imagining a figure in a Guy Fawkes mask standing atop the Tower of London, cape billowing in the wind.

I only started reading graphic novels in the last few years, and I knew Alan Moore’s works are requisite for any graphic novel reader. And since I don’t read the superhero kind, and there’s only one unread Art Spiegelman on my shelf (Breakdowns — I  should read that soon!), I mean to make my way through Allan Moore’s work, starting with V for Vendetta.

 

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George R.R. Martin’s The Ice Dragon

Before I got the lovely George R.R. Martin surprise, I’d actually begun preparing to read Game of Thrones by reading another work of his, the children’s novel, The Ice Dragon. Over the years, I’ve picked up the habit from a book club friend (hello, Marie!) — reading a shorter, lesser known work of an author before plunging into his/her definitive work. Sort of an appetizer to the main course, and I find it works for me; I get eased into the author’s writing style and tone, and it’s easier to adjust to a more complex work.

Another Flipper friend (thanks Iya!) found this book for me while she was coasting through bargain bins. She highly recommended it, and knowing I was going to read Game of Thrones sooner or later, I asked her to get the book for me.

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