Signed!

An author’s signature increases the value of a book. Signed first editions, especially by famous authors, can cost an arm and a leg (the Holy Grail of the moment is a signed first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, at £8,000 to £10,000), and while there are no hard and fast rules in book valuation, a signed copy is more valuable than an identical unsigned one.

For me though, the potential value of the book is secondary; the biggest thrill from getting a signed copy is being able to come into contact with the author (or illustrator) of the book, whether directly (through the rare book signings that happen in this part of the world) or indirectly (e.g. rummaging through the bargain bins and hitting paydirt!).

Continue reading “Signed!”

Flippers go TagLish


Finally, the much-awaited Flips Flipping Pages April Book discussion successfully took place, after weeks of preparation, coordinating with National Book Store, Anvil, and the staff of Ricky Lee to mount this memorable event featuring the book Para Kay B.

It was a great discussion, revealing juicy secrets (please, let’s keep everything in confidence!) among the attendees, discussing which chapters we liked best from the book, love, character stereotypes, colloquialism, and Filipino reading habits.

The highlight of the event was getting to meet the author, the famous Filipino scriptwriter Ricky Lee, who fast became a Flipper favorite because of his friendly and engaging personality, candidly answering our questions, and showing genuine interest in what we thought of his book, as well as FFP activities, even the book swap, and BookMooch!

I also think everyone was able to gain better appreciation for the book after being able to discuss it with fellow book club members and with Ricky Lee himself.

Ricky Lee was also kind enough to sign our books, with special dedications for everyone — yup, we compared messages at the dinner buffet at Thai Kitchen!

Here’s mine:

We capped the night off with dessert and chitchat at Cafe Breton.


It was another great book discussion for FFP and I can’t wait for the next one!

More photos here: http://flipsflippingpages.multiply.com/photos/album/42/Flippers_Meet_Ricky_Lee
and here: http://flipsflippingpages.multiply.com/photos/album/41
and here: http://flipsflippingpages.multiply.com/photos/album/40

Reading in TagLish

The fourth book I read during the 24-hour read-a-thon is Para Kay B by Filipino scriptwriter Ricky Lee (book 63 of 2009, book 11 of diversity challenge- FFP book discussion selection), the assigned reading for April for my book club Flips Flipping Pages, which will hold the discussion tomorrow (which prevents me from attending Dianne’s graduation party, but I’m really looking forward to the discussion).

Even before this book was chosen for discussion, I was meaning to get a copy because all the storefronts of National Book Store (to my international readers, NBS is the biggest book store chain in the Philippines) had a poster of the book and I was really intrigued by the full title, which reads: Para Kay B (O, kung paano dinedevastate ng pag-ibig ang 4 out of 5 sa atin) which roughly translated is: For B (Or how love devastates 4 out of 5 of us).

The novel, written in TagLish, a combination of Tagalog (a dialect which is the basis for the national language Filipino) and English, is comprised of five different love stories: a) Irene and Jordan (who made a childhood promise to marry her and then disappeared from her life); b) Sandra and Lupe (who happens to be her brother); c) Erica (who is from the love-less island of Maldiaga) and Jake (the son of the woman who takes Erica under her wing); d) the widow Ester and her maid Sara; and e) the voluptuous Bessie and the young, naive Lucas. The stories appear to be unrelated until the last few chapters, which reveal the link that binds them all.

Filipino was one of my better subjects in school (even in college when Filipino class was quite difficult), but reading this was harder for me than I anticipated because I haven’t read anything with this much Tagalog in a long time. To my non-Filipino readers, Tagalog (and Filipino) and the rest of the local dialects in the Philippines are read phonetically (sounded out syllable per syllable), as opposed to English, where words can be recognized on sight.

The second part I had difficulty with is the structure of the novel — no quotation marks. Quotes are mostly narrative, although there are some dialogues that read as a script. I have always had trouble reading novels that are straight narration (or with little dialogue) because I get bored, and when my concentration slips the text tends to meld together in my mind and I get lost reading. Perhaps it’s his background as a scriptwriter, or an intention to defy the conventional structure of the novel, but it took awhile before I got used to it.

During the readathon, the infernal heat was also driving me crazy so I had to haul my patootie to the McDonalds a few blocks away so I could concentrate.

The voice was also an acquired taste for me. When I read, I usually hear the narrator’s voice in my head (which I used to think was strange, but my Flipper friends tell me they do it too), and I hear a different pacing of the words for every book, and the voice and accent vary with the narrator (yes, Harry Potter in a British accent). I found Para Kay B too talkative, like the narrator was trying to get out so many words all at once, and I sensed a shrillness to it that grated on my nerves at some points in the book.

I liked the statistics proposed by the title, hahaha, because so far I’ve always been in the 4 out of 5 (loooooong story, and never mind) and I think a lot of people will agree with the statistic. In his end note, Ricky Lee states how (paraphrased) he wants to be read by everyone — the people riding the mrt, those watching over loved ones at the hospital, parents putting their kids to sleep — and not just his fellow writers or literature students. Love (or the absence of love) is a universal theme that most anyone can relate to, and Lee’s use of TagLish makes it more accessible to the average Filipino.

*Spoiler alert: do not read beyond this point if you plan on reading the book. Am writing about the resolution because a lot of my readers probably won’t get to read the book, seeing as it’s written in TagLish. I was contemplating writing this entry in TagLish like some of my Flipper friends but checking my stats, I found that only 41% of my readership is located in the Philippines, and I didn’t want to deprive them from reading this entry*

I did perk up later in the book when one of the characters (not Ricky Lee) turns out to be the writer of the five stories mentioned above. The stories are not resolved in their respective chapters, and are left hanging because of the writer’s (the character who is the writer, and not Ricky Lee) belief that 4 out of 5 love stories do not get a happy ending.

As the writer looks over his first draft, the 5 female characters suddenly appear in front of him, and they are disgruntled about the lack of resolution in their stories. They question his integrity and skill as a writer, fight among themselves, and even present the writer with a demand letter because they don’t want to be part of the 4 out of 5 statistic.

The character-talking-to-author ruse is a popular for stories about authors or illustrators, but I still found this to be the most enjoyable part of the novel because it was so funny in TagLish.

Finally, the writer issues his own demands — that the characters not pop up from out of the blue, that he write the story that he wants to tell, that he has the right to edit or revise as he chooses, and that the final say is his.

But he does change his mind about the story, and revises his draft to a conclusion that would satisfy both himself and his characters. He also realizes the difference between writing and real life, (paraphrased) how the writer has the power to change everything even after he’s written the story down — the bad changed to good and the tragic ending made happy — while in real life, that’s it, no revisions (I like this passage a lot).

Towards the end of the novel, he brushes off his theory on love, stating that theories are for insecure people, but he backtracks, posing the question, who isn’t insecure when they’re in love?

Edit at 11:24 pm: Am clarifying why I like this last part (more than the rest of the novel) after reading Gege’s review because I realized I didn’t elaborate on this aspect to the story.

My reading of the novel is that it’s an attempt (albeit it comes off a bit contrived, very movie-ish) at postmodernism, defying the traditional structure of the novel: one of the characters turns out to be writing the story (but is not the author), the characters become self-aware (that they’re characters of the story), voice out exactly what they think of the story (and attempt to vote off the writer) and have a hand in manipulating the outcome.

As the Flippers well know, I like postmodernist techniques in books (whether it’s picture books or novels) and I was pleasantly surprised to find it in this book because I wasn’t sure I was going to like it.

Para Kay B wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but in the end I enjoyed it, and I’m glad the discussi
on moved it up my reading list. I’m looking forward to discussing it tomorrow and meeting Ricky Lee in person.

One last, a drawing I made for the journal (token) we’re giving Ricky Lee at the discussion tomorrow. Will post some photos of the event in another entry this weekend :)


***
My copy: paperback, from NBS Bestsellers (10% discount from Anvil). Just a little rant: the binding is terrible, it’s glued at the edges and then stapled down, and the binding was giving way even before I read the book.

Oh, and props to INKie Ivan Reverente for the great illustrations, and I’m glad he joined us at INK this year.

My rating: 3.5/5 stars

I Survived the 24-hour Read-a-thon.

I’m still alive!

It’s the 24th hour and I’m far from finishing the last book I started so I thought I’d start blogging already.

I realized I didn’t include an introduction of my challenge in my mid-event post, so to explain, the 24-hour read-a-thon is an event mounted in memory of Dewey, a blogger and a reader who started the event in October 2007. Dewey passed away in November 2008, and the 24-hour read-a-thon is continued by those who’ve helped Dewey organize the past read-a-thons, and hundreds of book bloggers in the world.

I never met Dewey, although she was also active on BookMooch, but I am inspired by the number of lives she touched, and how she shared her love of reading to people all over the world. I decided to join this year because I salute her efforts, and I wanted to be part of this global celebration for a fellow book blogger.

So, as you’ve read in my mid-event post, I had a lot of catching up to do since I got stuck on Silverlock last night. Here’s the story, and the answers to some memes

I realized I didn’t answer the introductory meme so here goes:

3 facts about me …
– I live in Makati City, Philippines, where it’s the peak of summer and the temperature’s over 30 degrees!
– I collect international editions of Harry Potter.
– I am scared of flying cockroaches.

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
I didn’t plan my reading list, other than Silverlock, which was I was in the middle of when the event started, so after that I just grabbed some books from my general TBR pile, which has nearly 300. Now they’re in disarray because I trawled through them like a madwoman, lol!

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
My goal was 8 books.

If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, Any advice for people doing this for the first time?
It’s my first time, although I’ll definitely plan better for the next one, and I want to pull a hardcore all-nighter!

And finally, my end-of-event meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
Gosh, around hour 16, after I posted my mid-event entry.
It was sooooo hot, I was sweating like crazy so I took off for a walk to McDonald’s, which is around five blocks from our house. I finished one book, Para Kay B, and then I had to go home because I had to go to mass — it’s Sunday in the Philippines.

Downing a coke float, which didn’t have much of an effect towards the heat!

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Hmm, high-interest books in general, not necessarily ones I’ve read for this event. I’m thinking short and interesting so here are some suggestions:
Perfume by Patrick Suskind
The Arrival by Shaun Tan — wordless!
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka, ill. by Lane Smith
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
The Tattooed Map by Barbara Hodgson
Griffin and Sabine by Nick Bantock
The Little Prince by Antoine Saint Exupery

I’ve found that illustrated books work great because there’s a visual interest, and your eyes can rest from straight text.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
My suggestion is same as my mid-event suggestion — a holiday read-a-thon, because people have more time off or can clear their schedule accordingly, regardless of time zone.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
The Mr. Linky and the feed site — it’s a great way to find out what other readers are up to.

5. How many books did you read?
8 and a half

6. What were the names of the books you read?
The first four were in my mid-event post: Silverlock by John Myers Myers, D is for Dahl, and 2 Little Lit books (It was a Dark and Silly Night, and Fairy Tale Funnies).

Today’s reads included:
Para Kay B by Ricky Lee (photo above)

The Secret of the Pistoulet by Jana Kolpen and Mary Tiegreen
The Legend of Villa della Luna by Jana Kolpen and Mary Tiegreen

The Pixie Hollow Pop-up

and halfway through Miller’s Collecting Books by Catherine Porter
(and that’s my tottering TBR mountain– those that don’t fit my TBR shelves!)

7. Which book did you enjoy most?
I enjoyed the last book the most, Miller’s Collecting Books. It contains everything you need to know about collecting books and all sorts of book geekery, and I’m really loving it so I’m reading it slowly so I can savor it.

8. Which did you enjoy least?
Hmm, Silverlock was hardest for me to get through because I started it over the Easter holidays, stopped for a week when I had so much work to do and picked it up again for the read-a-thon. Hardcore fantasy (with maps and strange names) are really not my cup of tea, although the book references in Silverlock kept me going. Note to self: next time, no fantasy epics!

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
I wasn’t a cheerleader, but to the cheerleaders — good job! See you again next year!

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I’d still want to be a reader. I really want an all-nighter, and I’ve got to plan it out. An idea would be to read with another reader (or maybe more!), for a read-a-thon party.

Heehee, one last thing, I’d like to share a photo of my dog, Macky, helping me out in the read-a-thon:

Maybe he wants me to cook this recipe for him?
Cheers, and congratulations to all readers! Will post reviews of the read-a-thon books throughout this week.

Thank you Dewey for starting this tradition. You live in the memory of all read-a-thoners and read-a-thon cheerleaders!