Book from the past

Can you guess whose signature is on that book cover? Well it is the book cover. Found this book in our library a few years ago.

A book written by, or for, the Apo, Ferdinand Marcos.

I do not recall reading this book. Might pore over it one of these days.

Wisdom tooth & a book

I will be away for a few days. My wisom tooth has a date with destiny and I forsee a few days of inactivity.

Hopefully, I will be back on Monday.

Anyway, here is another book.

Its quite controversial.

What is your take on it?



Me?

Despite the controversy this book is one of the books I remember fondly. Its an engaging story.

Chronicles of Narnia

I passed by Powerbooks last Saturday to check the sale. The concentration of people milling around the store was more than the usual. And nearly every book was on sale at 15, 20, 30, 40 and 75 percent off.

The book I wanted to purchase was of course in the middle of the whole kaboodle. It was the complete Chronicles of Narnia. A few months before, I was able to sell my old Narnia books to my friend and fellow-employee Twinkle (yes, like the star). I vowed to get this big book of the Chronicles of Narnia.

I find it useful to weed-out my books periodically. It keeps the collection up-to-date, lets me control the space and provides me chance to get better copies of a book. TPB and Mass market TPB goes first, of course only get rid of the books you will not miss. So, I am keeping my CS Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters".So there it was the Complete Chronicles of Narnia.

The book was hardbound and the size of a coffee table book. The paper was of very
good quality and it even had its own book marker. And the drawings were in colour. And it was selling at 20 percent off its original price.I could hear of chorus of inner voices telling me to buy.

"Its on discount."
" Its a big proper book".
" Some other CS Lewis fans will probably get it"

With the debate going inside my head I decided to go upstairs and look over some other books. I said to myself - It can wait.After an hour or so of looking at books. I only found two books that were of interest to me. Alan Moore's V for Vendetta and that CS Lewis book on the first floor.I had even texted my friend to ask him what was the better comic book Alan Moore's Watchmen or V for Vendetta. A few minutes after this I came upon those small hardbound classic books. They are worth the buy and even without the sale they are priced greatly lower here at Powerbooks than the other bookstore. And then there was the audio book of CS Lewis' book "The Screwtape Letters" , which was read by Lethal Weapon and Bill & Ted baddie Joss Ackland.

I said to myself, "Oh great, the numbers of available books just geometrically increased."

In the end, I did buy the CS Lewis book. My final reason, I had decided to buy it almost six moons ago. It is a proper book - big, hardbound, coloured drawings, nice paper and with a nice bookmarker - and durable. It will probably serve me and my descendants well. And I got it at a discounted price.

Oops! I almost forgot the most important it is book that you will read over and over and over and over again. It is a classic.

A Book for your Perusal

During your visit to the book shop,where there is a sale, or when you troop over to this year's Book Fair.

You might come across this book. For your consideration.



The title of the book is "Your Favorite Seuss: A Baker's Dozen by the One and Only Dr Seuss". I guess you can call it a omnibus or collection of twelve stories by a writer named Dr Seuss. In real life Theodore Geisel.

Stories include:

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
Horton Hears a Who!
McElligot’s Pool
If I Ran the Zoo
Happy Birthday to You!
Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book
Yertle the Turtle
The Cat in the Hat
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Green Eggs and Ham
The Lorax
The Sneetches
Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

From my experience all stories are worthwhile and will entertain you for ages. The phenomenon is true for me, McElligot's Pool & Green Eggs and Ham, and I guess for nearly everyone who has read a Dr Seuss story.

The book is hardbound and paper seem sturdy. The book is big and impressive. Designed to last for several years. What is important though can be found inside, enter the world of Dr Seuss and meet Yertle the Turtle, Sam I Am, The Cat in Hat, Horton and a host of other characters who will make reading worthwhile.

As they say a book for children ages One to Ninety-One.

Book fair & perpetual sales

UPDATE: Sidney for told me that the Phil book fair will be held at World Trade Center Metro Manila (WTCMM) from August 31 till September 4, 2005. Thanks Sidney!

It is the time of year when book lover's wallets go on a slim-fast diet. Some have been saving up for this moment.

With the exception of the docking of the Doulos Goodwill ship, which docked at Manila several years ago and were selling a ton of books. The book fair is probably one of the few events that you will see a congregation of readers.

This annual book fair is usually preceded by a month long sale of books at National Book Store and Power Books. Note both bookstores has not been part of the book fair for a long time. So if you have been eyeing the CS Lewis books or a Lemony Snickett's tongue-in-cheek depressing books this might be your month. However, I have noticed that most book stores now have a permanent sale. If you visit their store there is always a special table for discounted books. And in some there are pre-designated days when you can get ten to twenty percent discounts. Of course, event at discounted price some of the books are still a bit steep.

So whats the point of going?

Especially now that they have relocated the venue from Mega Mall to the World Trade Center, near the edge of Manila Bay. You might as well go to Booksale or Books for Less or even National Book Store.

Well, hopefully the bookfair will still attract a lot of the specialty book stores scattered through-out Metro Manila. A number of Filipiniana and specialty bookstores and publishers will be there. No need to go Amanecer, Intramuros. They will be there, along the way you can pass by F Sionil Jose's book store La Solidaridad. Or if you are into academic books, librarians who want to update and build their collection, book jobbers will be there selling books and un-books. There will also be some seminars and other events.

I wonder if there will be some comic sellers this year. Who knows.

Read any churches lately?

If you were born and raised a Catholic you often take things for granted. Every Sunday you go to mass. Baptismal, communion, confirmation, marriage, and last rites are things that eventually happen. The building where this happens is there it seems for perpetuity, well at least that is what it seems. And if you live in the Philippines churches seem to be everywhere.

Perhaps that is why the Spanish Colonial period is sometimes described as "Bajo delas Campanas" or under the church bells. Three hundred years of Spanish colonisation would not have been succesful without the church. The sword and the cross effectively governed the country.

Departing from a little bit of history, we know that churches are ubiquitous, at least in the Philippines. The old walled city had more than five churches inside its walls. And during lent some of us make it a point to visit at least 7 or more churches during Visita Iglesia. But are we really familiar with our church? Have we taken time to take a closer look at our church?

I have come across a book that will shed some light into this dilemma.

Close to a year ago, I got this book from the previously owned books section of the National Book Store. What I have learned and wrote often is that previously owned at NBS means second handbooks and books owned by other bookstores. So I often find it useful to visit the topmost floor of the NBS superstore, who knows what you can find.

Now, what is fascinating about this book?

Churches and Cathedrals were built not only for worship but to be read. What are obvious to most of us, well at least for me, are the stained glass windows and the statues scattered throughout the church. A closer look at the architecture, layout, seemingly randomly placed symbols and even colours inside the church will reveal deeper meanings. The church was more than a house to celebrate mass or for the faithful to congregate. It was a testimony to the faith.

It is an interesting read. The book begins with preliminaries, the author being an Anglican, takes the time to explain the intricacies and differences between the different Christian Religions and churches. Taylor then proceeds to explain the significance of the architecture, the layout, the different crosses, even the furniture and other elements inside the church. He also provides a small chapter on how to read a priest.

What is interesting about Taylor's book is that it provides a guidebook for us. So the church becomes a book of sorts that reveals its secret to us like a rose shedding its petals.

Mr Taylor's profession is the law, which he took up at Oxford and the London University. His interests though have provided him with a unique pastime, Christian symbolism. It would seem that his interest in this area of study has been so succesful that he has become a lecturer on the topic, to people from several faith and no faith. If we are to believe his short biography at the dustcover of the book. After reading the book, I think I believe his biography is true, for only a person with genuine interest in this topic can write it an engaging and informative manner.

Aside from an interesting read and a good reference source, the book enables the reader to appreciate the church, regardless of one's faith or lack of it.

BTW, Did you know there are five types of halos and they have different meanings. I found that out in the book. Even they lay-out of the church served a particular purpose. Or that Judases symbol is the rope ( you probably knew that) but do you know which disciple has a boat as symbol? Or what does the salamander or the pelican symbolize? An interesting read indeed.

Taylor, Richard. HOW TO READ A CHURCH: A Guide to Images, Symbols and Meanings in Churches and Cathedral.Rider, Random House. London. UK. Copyright 2003.

More book sites

I also came upon a new book-related sites on the Net. It will probably take me some time to be familiar with them. But based on my first impressions about them they seem to be worth a look see.

Newpages this seems to be a portal for other book review sites.

Bookmunch seems to be good book review site for comics and new stuff coming from the UK. Its a free access site.

Cambridge Book Review, book reviews from Cambridge University (?). It is also a free access site.

Salon.com, You have to sign-up to access the articles. Fortunately if you view the ad for a couple of minutes you can view any article for eight hours. Not a bad deal.

Bookspot. Now this is an interesting reference portal. Editors and Experts select on-line resources for a topic and makes it available for you. Their network of sites have received a lot of awards and praise. I must say I am quite impressed with these sites. Might spend more time here. The main site is Starpot Network, from here you can access the other sites for movies, jobs, headlines, library etc etc.

Who is Gannibal?

I was reading a couple of book reviews today and found a book that seems to be interesting, at least for me.

I gleamed information about the book from James Harkin's review, "Gannibal lecture". The review can be accesed at FT.Com.

GANNIBAL: The Moor of Petersburg
Hugh Barnes
Profile Books £16.99, 256 pages

But who is Gannibal?

Ibrahim Abram Petrovich Gannibal is now known as the maternal great-grandfather of Russian Poet and writer Alexander Pushkin. Gannibal was an Ethiopian slave boy, rumored to be a son of king or warlord, who was taken by orders of the great-grandfather of Leo Tolstoy from Constantinopole to the Court of Peter the Great in Moscow. Tsar Peter had gathered other "dark-skinned" children and had them trained in arts and science, in order to prove that these children can become learned individuals and that he valued people by their abilities and not by the colour of their skin.

And Peter did succeed, Gannibal (the name he took in honor of Hannibal, Gannibal is the Russian form of the name) became the Engineer-General of his Peter the Great and an intellectual who conversed with Voltaire, Baron de Montesquieu and Denis Diderot.

I wonder when this book will get here? Or would it be better to order it. Not at the moment. I still have books to read.

Book Readings and Fullybooked

The rainy season must be the best season to read a book. If you are at home, comfortably seated, with your favourite beverage in hand and with adequate lighting.

I usually read several books at a time. Some are rereads of books I like. Searching and perusing the favourite passages. Others are reference books or heavy books that cannot be read straight-away. Others are anthologies, compilation of short stories to entertain. And others are recently bought or borrowed books that you have to finish.

Thankfully somebody thought up of bookmarks. Not the expensive ones you buy at Fullybooked or any other bookstore. Cards or pieces of old envelopes you insert to mark the last page you read. I do not dog ear books. For me its similar to defacing a book.

So what have I been reading lately.

Re-reading Frank Herbert's Dune, Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune and CS Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. I have also been reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel, TH Whites' Once and Future King, A book about Bettas ( Fighting Fish), A book about the Emperor's of China, Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game and just finished HG Well's The Island of Dr Moreau.

Not buying any books till the book fair.

And speaking of books have you been to the new Fullybooked store at Rockwell?

The book racks are so skewed it reminds of a maze. I do not know what to make of it. But it seems to be designed to lead the customer to travel through the whole bookstore before reaching the exit.

I do not hate it but I am not quite sure I like it.

My Book Meme

The Filipino Librarian passed this meme to me so here it is.

I am still waiting for someone to use meme in a pun.

Total books owned:

I did a mental count of the books I own. Mostly books I got from my parent and relatives. Those I have bought. Some gifts from friends. At present, not counting the comic books and audio books, I have around a thousand books. My room looks like a big storeroom of books. I even have books stored in bags and boxes.

Last book I bought:

The Island of Dr. Moreau by HG Wells

A slim book priced at a reasonable price of 90.00 pesos at Fullybooked Gateway. I have been eyeing this book for sometime. A Dover thrift classic, it is not hardbound and it is printed in newsprint. Tells the tale of a man who finds himself in the island with scientists and their experiments. Written by HG Well it is horror and a science fiction story about the abuse of scientific inquiry and the repercussions. The book, as usual, is more thought provoking and insightful than its different movie adaptations, although I still have to see the 1930s adaptation (Island of Lost Souls), which starred Charles Laughton as the infamous Dr Moreau.

Last book I read:

Last night, I was rereading Frank Herbert's God Emperorof Dune . Book five of Herbert's Dune saga. A meandering book. I have always find it useful to read this book piecemeal. Although it does have a story and a plot, the novel also delves into the mind frame of Leto II and his three thound reign over the galaxies. His musings and insights are informative, entertaining and insightful. The Dune saga is about politics and powerplay and the use and misuse of critical resources, for Dune it was the spice melange. The object that made long space travel possible and gave clairvoyance power to a few.

Modifying the meme a little bit by adding two more lists five types of Books I Read and five favourite Filipiniana books .

Five Types of Books I Read:

Comic Books

It is the marriage between the visual art form and the tale. Images and words are used in a sequential manner to tell a story. The most common forms are cartoon strips usually found inside newspapers, magazine formats are called comic books, and those compilled or are a wee bit too long are called Graphic Novels.

History Books

When I was confined to a hospital due to appendicities one of the things I read was a book on world history. History is a recollection of the past and it give you an insight on how things came about. How did the first Emperor of China Shi Huang Di lived and died. Or how did the Venerable Bede lived. Or how was life in an abbey during the sark ages or in Manila when the Spanish Governor Generals rule from the Palacio del Gobernador. History is replete with people - the famous, the infamous and the ordinary.

Reference Books/source books

I like reference book not only because of the wealth of information but the amount of interesting information they contain, In other words trivia. Of course what is interesting to individual A might be different individual B. As they say to each his own.

Literary Books

Fiction and drama that have artistic value. In other words for entertainment purposes and along the way you learn something. I cannot say I favor one genre over another but when I find it at the beginning an interesting read or I read a credible review, print or verbal, I usually take a stab at it.

The un-books

These include books in audio and digital format. There are times when it seems , to me at least, that I use what I call un-books or non-print media or books. When it is more convenient or more practical to view the book through a monitor. And there are times when you want to just sit down close your eyes and listen to a story. As I said before, humurous books liked Richard Lederer's Anguished English is fun to listen and Stephen Fry's reading of Harry Potter is a gem.

Five books that meant a lot to me:

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A fable about revolutions. A must read for everyone entering adulthood.

Screwtape's Letter by CS Lewis

Correspondence between devils on how win the soul of a single man.

McElligot's Pool by Dr Seuss

For some unknown reason for me the most unforgetable Dr Seuss book. I still remember reading and re-reading again and again and over and over.


Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Bierce's cynical description of all things in life presented as a dictionary. Full of wit and sarcasm I find myself going back to this book from time to time.

Batman: The Killing Joke written by Alan Moore, drawn by Brian Bolland and inked by John Higgins
For me at least the seminal comic book story. It captures all that is good in the fusion of the word and the image.

Five Favourite Filipiniana Books

A Question of Heroes by Nick Joaquin
I like Nick Joaquin's work. His essays on our national heroes though are for me engrossing. I remember reading this during high school, I even brought this to class my teacher in mythology seemed to be enflamed as Hera when she saw the book. She criticized the book as weakening our belief in our heroes. I continue to read the book to this day.

The Best Philippine Short Stories of the Twentieth Century edited by Isagani R Cruz

Best buy in terms of Filipino literature. This book though has some sentimental value for our family. What happened to our family during World War II was the basis of one of the stories.

Journey to Majayjay by Paul P. de la Gironiere
Not written by a Filipino but about the journey of the Frenchman Gironiere to Majayjay during Christmas. Translated from French, the account gives a revealing account of life during those times.

FILIPINIANA BOOK GUILD SERIES 1
They contain scanned images of hard to find Filipiniana books. One Book in the series Percy Hill's "Romance and Adventure in Old Manila" is available but is priced at 6,000 pesos. The CD is being sold at 1,000 and contains more than 20 books.

KangKong 1890

This book was required reading during high school. It tells the tale of a boy growing up to manhood during the Katipunan Revolution. Other books worth reading The Praying by Bienvenido Santos and Celso Al Carunungan's Satanas Sa Lupa.

And now I am passing this meme on to five and more blogs/bloggers.

The Master of Useless Knowledge

Prospect Avenue

gumbygimmix

personal geographic

Another Hundred Years Hence

Blackshama's blog

Anavlas

Sassy Lawyer

Disiniland

By Jove