The Book Bandit (a.k.a, Me) is back (*evil laugh*) — I just made away with some major loot at the National Book Store Warehouse Sale, ongoing at the 4th floor of National Book Store Quezon Avenue.
Tag: national book store
Meet Arya, my Kobo Glo!
I’ll read books any way I can get them, and I’ve read e-books on PC, mobile, and palm pilot since 2004, so I’ve always considered e-ink technology a godsend.
I’ve been in love with e-ink technology since I got my first e-reader in early 2011. The state of my shelves tells me I haven’t slowed down significantly in terms of acquiring print books, but e-books have generally become part of my lifestyle. About 50% of the books I read are ebooks, and the e-reader is something I’d never leave home without, because God forbid I find myself in a tediously slow checkout counter (or cab queue, or the reception at a client’s office) with nothing to read.
After two generations of (heavily-used) e-readers, I had been looking for a device with a built in light, because I realized I was doing a lot of reading in the dark (before drifting off to sleep), and often used my tablet for that purpose, because the clip-on lights on my e-reader either kept conking out (I must have run through half a dozen) or falling off. Hence, my eye grades have been off the charts of late.
I was thrilled to get a Kobo Glo when National Book Store launched Kobo in September; I had actually been eyeing this particular e-reader for a while already, as it seemed a better option for my second-gen touch model. I’ve named this e-reader Arya (as in Arya Stark, ASOIAF), and I’ve been reading on it daily ever since I’ve got it, and it’s been an excellent experience so far.
Doodle Bug
Stress has been at an all-time high in the past four weeks or so, as event after event (after event!) just kept on coming and I was up to my eyeballs in work. Three little books have been my constant companion during this time: Sachiko Umoto’s Illustration School series, which I picked up during the last MIBF.
I initially picked up these books because they’re adorable — who can resist covers like these? And I felt like I need an art refresher course, as this stubbornly dry spell in my artwork has refused to budge. But I’ve always been a doodler, and doodling calms me down especially when stress is at its peak. I find that working with my hands keeps me from getting too agitated, or from screaming (at certain people) in frustration.
Sachiko Umoto is a popular Japanese artist, and her Illustration School series: “Let’s Draw Plants and Small Creatures,” “Let’s Draw Cute Animals,” and “Let’s Draw Happy People” are step-by-step guides to cute (kawaii!) illustrations. The instructions are simple and work for various skill levels, and the pages are textured nicely for pencil drawing. I’ve been having a lot of fun with the books ever since I got them!
The last of the MIBF loot
It’s the week after the MIBF and I hit the ground running at work, picking up where I left off on the various other ongoing accounts at the height of our events season. It’s the busiest time of the year for us and I’m running ragged at this point.
Readers have been telling me they want to see the rest of my book fair posts, but this week was more than a little crazy, and so was the weekend at the book fair. There were so many people and so many things going on all at the same time!
MIBF 2013: Day 1 Report
Back from Day 1 of the Manila International Book Fair, and I’m pretty worn out, but happy. I was not in book shopping mode (not yet), and I was only able to get one book (it’s true!), but it’s been a very productive day otherwise.
Opening day is always my busiest, and it was busier than usual this year. Most of my work is concentrated on opening day, as I have interviews lined up across the day, and I have to snatch pockets of time in between to write some book fair stories to send out immediately. So mission accomplished on that end.