Library7

Our New Home: baratillo books cinema @ cubao

2006-03-01T12:20:00.000+08:00

Visit us at our new home baratillo books cinema @ cubao

New Domicile

2006-02-25T14:31:00.000+08:00

Hi!

Thank you for visiting this blog.

I have moved a couple houses down Harvard Street and have occupied a new domicile. Quite near the commercial district of Cubao. An on-line ukay-ukay/baratillo blog of my own. Drop by and you will the find me there writing, reflecting and selling some stuff.

Three of my blogs - Harvard Street Cubao, Library 7 and cine67 - have now merged. Here is my new blog:

baratillo books cinema & pinoy blog @ cubao

Drop by anytime.

Again, thanks for visiting.

Juned

Wiki and peanutbutter

2006-02-15T07:44:00.000+08:00

Anyone interested in setting up a wiki?

For me its a fun way to keep notes and keep a database on-line. One of the e-groups I belong use it to compile a file of everyone in the group and some random notes. Its fun. And a handy thing to have, I set-up one and use it to keep notes and arrange stuff. I have been meaning to write about it for sometime then they came up with a promo to promote them in exchange you get to double space. There are nice things about marketing campaigns.

Anyway you might the able to use their services, I did ... no kidding.

By the way their tagline is:

“PBwiki makes creating a wiki as easy as making a peanut butter sandwich”

And it takes only ten seconds to set-up the wiki.

Here are the links to PBwiki

Check out the PBwiki tour!

Get a free wiki at PBwiki.com.

Blank books

2006-02-11T15:15:00.000+08:00

This is I guess a fancy word for a notebook, a diary and a journal. A number of them can be a bit pricey, especially the notebooks they sell at Fullybooked. Some are so beautifully made that it seems to be a waste just to write on them.

But it still a notebook.

What is the use of a notebook if not used?

Nothing.

A blankbook or a notebook is probably one of my favorite type of books. It is the tabula rasa on which one jots down one's idea , a reminder, a note or a curse. For in some cases the notebook becomes the repository of our knowledge and intent. The proverbial hole in the ground where we can shout our inner thoughts. The scapegoat that becomes the recipitory of our sins. And in some cases the coliseum where we deal with our inner demons and enemies. Also a place to store notes.

There is a restaurant in China that serves an authentic and multiple course Imperial Feast. Wealthy patrons go to this restaurant to feast on dishes that were prepared for the Emperor of China and served only in Forbidden City. The proprietor of the said restaurant was a descendant of one of the minor court officials who was in charge of preparing the food. And this court official was taking down notes of what dishes were served, how they were cooked and what were the ingredients. Probably to ensure that the Emperor and his Court will always get the right and consistent meal they were used to.

Another blank book became the diary of a Jewish girl, who for a time hid with her family in an attic. They were hiding from the Nazis. Unfortunately, they were discovered, separated and sent to different concentration camps. The diary remained in the attic and after the war it was published. In its pages survived the thoughts and interactions of the people inside that attic from the point of view of the girl, Anne Frank.

Its useful to write things down in a notebook. The act itself purges us of ill-thoughts and records our opinion and musings. And in retrospect it allows us to judge more fairly our thoughts of the moment. Similar to a blog.

Except, a notebook, diary or journal allows us to be more candid, a great deal more candid.

About Practical Cats

2006-02-09T23:03:00.000+08:00

I am not really an avid poem reader. One of the few poems I remember, rather a few lines I remember comes Emerson's poem about a tree and Jose Rizal's Mi Ultimo Adios. I do know the complete lines of a lot of nursery rhymes and JRR Tolkien's poem found in nearly all the books of the Lord of the Rings- The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King.

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,/span
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all,
One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
--J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

I even memorized the parts that were written in the One Ring.

Ash nazg durbataluk
Ash nazg gimbatul
Ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul
--J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

The Dark Tongue was easier to retain than any of the Elvish tongue. Although, I had friends who studied it and acquired enough knowledge to converse in it. This was before the Jackson's film came out. Even before Bakshi's film came out as well. The Orc version of the rhyme did play a small part in a couple of friends belief that I was possessed several years ago. Never mix alcohol and works by JRR Tolkien.

So these were the only set of poems I had continually read through the years. Then several months ago I found myself in a book store, drifting from aisle to aisle. Glancing at books, books and books. Until, I saw this small book, almost a pamphlet really. It was mocha colored and had an odd cartoon of a cat with a bowler hat. It was sofbound and the book was written by TS Eliot. The book was titled,Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.

The book caught my eye because I was familiar with Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats, which was a musical adaptation of Eliot's works. So I browsed it and soon enough left the store. I had bought the book.

The book, which is a compilation of TS Eliot's cat poems, is and interesting read. In it he describeds the different types of cats. It is one of those books that you can take out and read in the park or inside a coffee house. Guaranteed to bring a smile to your lips.

Here is one of the poems -

The Naming of Cats

The naming of cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm mad as a hatter
When I tell you a cat must have three
different names.

First of all, there's the name
that the family use daily,
Such as Victor, or Jonathan,
George or Bill Bailey--
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names
if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen,
some for the dames;
Such as Plato, Admetus,
Electra, Demeter--
But all of them sensible everyday names.

But I tell you,
a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that is peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he
keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers,
or cherish his pride?

Of names of this kind,
I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quazo or Coripat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellyrum--
Names that never belong
to more than one cat.

But above and beyond
there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you will never guess;
The name
that no human research can discover--
But The Cat Himself Knows,
and will never confess.

When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought,
of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.
The Naming of Cats by TS Eliot,Possum's Book of Practical Cats

By the way, This book is a nice buy.

Books and Films

2006-02-02T15:31:00.000+08:00

Never judge a book by its movie. - JW Eagan

In a few weeks the movie Brokeback Mountain will have its commercial run in Metro Manila. Ang Lee's Cowboy-Shepherd Love Story will be a hit in Metro Manila. The range of interest for the movie cuts across personal sexual preferences.

There are two things general about movie adaptations.

First, Always note the word/caveat "adapted from", this means that the Director, Writer and Producer may have tampered with the story, for the sake of expediency and to hype up the story.

Second, The resulting movie story is not as good as the original story. Rarely, the only film that seems to improve with the movie adaptation was Pierre Boulle's "Le pont de la rivière Kwai" and the movie was David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai. And probably, the film "Spartacus", which was adapted from Howard Fast's novel of the same title. Then again Bridge on the River Kwai and Spartacus are good examples of ensemble work at are finest.

However, despite this I like movie adaptations and I do not mind queuing up to watch them. Partly because to see their treatment of book and more importantly the interest it generates ushers in new batch of readers. Not to mention new and better editions of the story.

So for that I like movie adaptations. Movie adaptations that have ushered in a renewed interest in books include:

Please note, the books mentioned in this post are books that I like and I am quite aware there are more books and film adaptations out there worthy of praise and attention.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

I like the Fellowship of the Ring, but not its subsequent adaptations. It did, however, bring in new editions of JRR Tolkien works. The Lord of the Ring Trilogy is a good buy, but a better buy would be "The Hobbit", "Farmer Giles of Ham", and "The Tolkien Reader" - which include “The Leaf by Niggle”.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

The movie adaptation has brought about a new set of editions of CS Lewis' works. I would disregard the derivative works. Concentrate on the original works. Collect the whole Chronicles of Narnia, the Silent Planet Trilogy, “The Screwtape Letters” and for those serious readers the rest of Lewis' works. For movie it wont hurt to check out the movie “Shadowlands”.

Animal Farm

George Orwell's fable has been done twice and both adaptations to put mildly were not good. In both occasions somebody thought of improving the story, bad idea. One does not improve a story on an excellent story.

Anyway, Excellent movie adaptations of books include:

Godfather I and II, Mario Puzo's “The Godfather” includes the story of Michael Corleone and Vito Corleone. The ending though was a more powerful in the book.

“The Princess Bride”, this is an odd-one. It seems to be more of a book adapted from the movie. The movie is nice and the book is a nice read. It pays that the screenwriter and writer of the book are the same, William Goldman.

James Ivory's film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's “The Remains of the Day” is a gem. The book more so.

A book and film are two mediums to express a story. Movies are dynamic and visually overwhelming. However, it is limited by time (there is a human limitation to the amount we can watch) and by the caprices or tastes of all its creators. A book or written word can be dynamic but works on the individual level, it uses word to describe action and it uses phrases to impart subtle and not-subtle meaning to these actions. It may not be visually overwhelming but it works effectively in imprinting an image in our conscience. More effectively than any film can.

By the way, I am now reading Annie Proulux's "Broke Back Mountain" it should be an interesting read.

The Prestige: A Story Told in Many Forms

2006-01-24T15:00:00.000+08:00

It is the 1878, two illusionists meet at fraudulent séance. The results are less than ideal; in fact the fraudulent séance has gone awry for one illusionist and a negative self-realization of the other. Unfortunately, this event has sparked a feud between the two stage magicians. A feud that will cause fatal consequences and the problem that their children and children’s attempt to resolve.

Enter the world stage magic and fantasy.

I saw this book last Friday as I passed by a different bookstore in Cubao. And they were having their post-Christmas sale. There were a number of books about. Not as many as the Ancient Library of Alexandria nor the English village that claimed to have all the books in the world nor the books stored in the different great libraries around the world, but it had many.

While I was quietly browsing the book and making the rounds inside the bookshop then I saw this book. I hesitate to specifically state the genre of the book, only that it is a fantasy book.

The book was in softbound format and it was printed on a form of paper, newsprint. According to information found at the back of the book this was the first edition of the book printed in paperback. And that it had won the World Fantasy Award and Britain’s James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

I bought the book.

It is an interesting read it is one of the books that I have come across that have used the different forms of story telling in one tale. The use of different storytelling devices is quite effective in bringing together, contrasting, and developing the story and the views of the different characters in the book.

Its hard to put down the book once you have started to read it. Do I think it is a good book? Yes! Without a doubt, it is a good book. Will it become a classic, maybe only time will tell.

The Book was awarded the World Fantasy Award and Britain’s James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

A worthwhile read.

The Sign of A Well Loved Book?

2006-01-13T19:03:00.000+08:00

A few days I discovered that one of the books, which my nephews and I read a lot, vandalised. Each line in the Table of Contents was crossed-over with a green marker. Needless, they say I was initially distraught and thought of several ways to exact punishment on the culprit, then it dawned on me that it was my nephews who did it. After, a quick verbal reprimand it hit me. Through the years, several books had also passed through my hands and my siblings hands and not all of them were spared. It took some time before we were able to realize how to take care of books. I remember my worn-out copy of Dr Seuss' McElligot's Pool and the Cat in the Hat.

Well what is more important a well-used book or a book in mint condition? What is the mettle and value of a book?

Maybe somewhere in between. One thing is for sure though books are meant for riding.

And somehow, it made that particular vandalism of the Dr Seuss book a great deal more bearable. At least they learned not to vandalize a book. And at least they are not book burners. Book burning is more malicious I think, especially if its done on purpose like what Shi Huang Di, The First Emperor of China, did. At least Julius Ceasar wept when the Great Library of Alexandria was accidentally burned.

Book Tastes

2006-01-04T17:33:00.000+08:00

It’s January again and it seems despite my best efforts I have before me a pile of books, both brand new and not so new, for perusing.

Some can be described as hard to find. Some can be described as poignant. Some can be as saccharine as true sugar and honey. One thing though described them as my books. The books I like to read.

I was enjoying lunch with a couple of office friends last week and the discussion went to books. And it was kind of surprising to learn that despite, what seemed to be our mutual love for books. The books we liked were as similar as the Moon and the Sun. Some liked the history books, others preferred the old writers (even in that set there were the lovers and haters of Dickens), and some the new and still some loved to read just about anything. There seems to be an endless of books available for everyone. Each suited for one need and each tailored to one's taste.

Library Thing and book finds

2005-12-29T16:13:00.000+08:00

My friend Allan came upon the site called Library Thing. It allows you to list down your books (at least the first 200 for free) on-line and enables you to search for people with the same book. As Allan described it "friendster" for bibliophiles.

It uses the US Library of Congress, Other Public Libraries and Amazon.com databases. I was just able to put in around ten or so books. Something to do during the lull time at work.

Also, before the year ends and the 13th month pay is used up I would suggest you drop by NBS Superbranch at Cubao. The previously-owned book section is still open and there are still some interesting finds. I was able to get the anniversary edition of Kenneth Grahame's book "The Wind in the Willows" at a very good price, imagine a coffee table book sold at the price of a paperback. It still worth going back to old haunts from time to time.

Animal Farm and Other Writings by Eric Blair

2005-12-08T16:31:00.000+08:00

At long last I was able to buy this book. I had to wait a year but it was worth it. The book was sitting at Fullybooked for over a year. Several times I was tempted to buy it but somehow I convinced myself that I had to wait. Financial obligations and other important factors had to be considered. Anyway, I already had two copies of Animal Farm - a browsing copy and a collection copy.

George Orwell's Animal Farm is one of my favourite books. Looking at things now maybe the Philippines would have been a better place if more people read Animal Farm. Maybe a Pilipino translation of the book would be needed. I have seen two movie adaptations of the book. The first one was the classic cartoon version I saw at the British Council and the second one was the version from the creators of the pig movies Babe. Unfortunately, both versions seem to be very pale, almost anaemic, versions of the tale. There really is no need to change the story of Animal Farm. It is perfect in its original form.

I was also able to read Orwell's 1984. This was during 1984 or 1983 during my stint at UPIS. I read the book as part of the English literature class' requirement - a book report. Interesting book and more guttural than Animal Farm. But it seems not as sly and wicked. Orwell's Animal Farm was effective because it was a Fable. The distance it allowed the reader to learn about the happenings at Manor Farm made the lesson from the tale more evident and the impact lasting.

I just had to get this version. Along with Animal Farm it contained a selection of political writings culled from the complete collection of Orwell's writing. It should provide interesting reads. One of the more interesting reads is Orwell's List of Crypto-Communists and Fellow-Travellers - euphemism for Useful fools of political causes. Each piece of work is preceded by a short description of the work and its significance. Quite sure this is going to be good read. Orwell is probably one of the best political writers in English.

A must read for everyone.

Orwell & Politics: Animal Farm in the Context of Essays, Reviews, and Letters Selected from The complete works of George Orwell. Edited by Peter Davison. Introduction by Timothy Garton Ash.

Buying Second Hand Books

2005-11-29T16:29:00.000+08:00

Several weeks ago, I found myself at the middle of Marikina Shoe Expo - the U-shaped complex on the fringes of Cubao's commercial district. As I mentioned in my past post the place is being transformed into a place uncommon to Cubao. Some of the old shoe shops were or have morphed into restaurants, curiosity shops, record shops, teahouses and even bookstores.

Yes, the old shoe district seemed to be developing an artistic bent.

Anyway, my salary had just come in and I decided to go to the bookshop called Datelines. The bookstore has an interesting collection of books from Filipiniana to comics. So there I was browsing through the bookrack that had all the second hand books. On the topside was the paperback edition of Philip J Caputo's a "Rumor of War". Then I saw it. The book that I would buy that day. It was one of those old antonym and synonym books, quite useful when one is at a loss for words. And it was priced at thirty pesos. Very cheap. Its pages were a bit yellowish, showing the usual decay of paperback paper, but still its pages were not yet brittle. The book would probably last another three years.

Then and there I bought the thing. Happy with my purchase I proceeded on my journey for the day.

There was another shop that looked interesting, right up front of its window was an action figure of a flame creature one of the main characters in the anime Howl's Moving Castle. There were several things that looked interesting. However, the store was closed for the day. It would have been interesting to see the items for sale inside that shop.

Night time came and I found myself flipping over the book that I got. It came after a minutes of perusing the pages. A faint odor that was neither pungent nor irritating but gave the essence that the book had not been read for several years. It was just like opening the tomb of Tutankhamen. I smelled the odor of age. Not irritating really, I still use the book, but I do not read for long.

I guess when buying second hand books be mindful of the condition of the books, paperbacks do not really age well. Papers were never designed to last that long. Not all of them anyway.

A Tide of Narnia and CS Lewis Books

2005-11-17T16:18:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I dropped by book launching at Powerbooks at Greenbelt Three. And while there I noticed that there was a significant amount of Narnia - related books. It comes as no surprise, since the CS Lewis' tale the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will be making its ways to cinemas this Christmas Season. Unfortunately, for us Filipinos there will a two or three week delay thanks to the annual film festival. I just hope that this year's movies will be at worth watching. Or if not let them be like the wind and pass quickly through.

Yes, there were new sets of Narnia books from soft bound to hardbound books. Nearly all size and style of Narnia books. There were even books based on the books, these included a short children story about Tea with Mr Tumnus, trivia books about Narnia, and of course there were the books that deconstructed the story of Narnia and its author CS Lewis itself.

The upside of any movie adaptation of a book is that just before the theatrical release several books are re-issued into the consumer market. And if it’s any consolation, if the movie is a dud one can always read the book.

I just hope that the movie does justice to the book.

Before I forget, another plus side of the movie is that not only is CS Lewis' Narnia books glutting the book stores but you will find a lot of his other works surfacing as well.

Among his Non-Narnia books for me the good buys would be the following:

1) Screwtape's Letters, both the book and the audio book (read by Joss Ackland)

2) His Ransom or Silent Planet Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength

3) His retelling of a myth in Till We Have Faces.

4) The Dark Tower and Other Stories

CS Lewis was a close friend of JRR Tolkien (they were part of the University of Oxford-based literary discussion group called the Inklings) and was one of the first people who read Tolkien's The Hobbit. For CS Lewis fans the movie Shadowlands (1999) a film about CS Lewis starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger.

Encouraging Children to Read

2005-11-07T16:27:00.000+08:00

You can never force children to read. To do so would be counter-productive. If you force them to read they would actually stay away from it. Yet at the same time you have to make it as interesting as playing a video game or watching cartoons.

My nephews, like most children of our present age are bombarded by images fast and enticing like the ones on television, films and video games. Well to be fair there are advantages and benefits to being adept at new technologies. Yet a book is still a book.

You do not need to plug a book in. It will not shock you. No worms or viruses can make it crash. Ok, some invertebrates will eventually devour it slowly if certain precautions are not taken. In order to view it you need sunlight or an incandescent bulb. The chances are that it is going to be outmoded by the next model is slight. All you need is interest in order to operate it.

Interest that is the key.

In our family we regulate the use of television. We set-up specific times for viewing cartoons and playing games. Somewhere in between that we were able to introduce reading time.

It was difficult at first. Trying to find the interest of my nephews. The two although brothers are as similar as Felix and Oscar in Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple, the reference might be a bit old, the bottom line is they have different tastes.

In the end we told them they cannot watch TV but they can pick whatever books they want to read. In the end they picked the same set of books. Stories by Dr Seuss, Books about snakes and crocodiles, Peter Rabbit books and comic books. The books came from all over; Some were my old books, some new ones and some second hand books.

Their favourites:

1. The Cat in the Hat
2. Green Eggs and Ham
3. Dr Doom
4. I Don't Like to Eat!
5. A Snake book
6. Where the Wild Things Roam
7. The Five Chinese Brothers

and others

Books to read on Halloween, Feast of All Saints and All Souls Day

2005-10-28T14:32:00.000+08:00

So what are you reading this weekend?

Despite the advance celebration of the department stores of Christmas the Feast of All Saints and the Feast of All Souls is just around the corner. It is the time of remembrance, celebration and prayer. A lot of people will be trekking to the different cities of the dead to remember friends and families who have crossed to the undiscovered country.

The topic of ghosts, ghouls and goblins will surely fill the tv screens and the airwaves. So for us bookworms what are we to do when we go tired of the usual run of shows featuring ghosts in the attics and vampires in the bathroom?

One can always read a book.

I am sure you would have your favourite reads when it comes to horror and supernatural books. The list of authors is nearly endless - Anne Rice, Stephen King, Peter Straub, Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stroker, MR James, HP Lovecraft et al.

Me? I am kind of old fashion I like reading the old authors Bram Stoker's epistolary novel Dracula, Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, Edgar Allan Poe's A Cask of Amontillado and the Black Cat, MR James' Casting on the Runes, and HP Lovecraft's Rats in the Wall. These are all my favourites but what is intriguing for me is a series of books written by Mr Maximo Ramos on the supernatural creatures and beings in Philippine folklore.

As far as I remember here are the titles:

The Creatures of Midnight

Aswang Complex in Philippine Folk Lore

Legends of the Lower Gods

Mr Ramos compiled the different beliefs regarding supernatural creatures through-out the Philippines. It is an interesting read. You learn that the term Aswang is used to describe five different types of supernatural creatures - werebeasts, ghouls, blood suckers, internal organ eaters, viscera suckers and witches. You also get to learn of the different way to find out if the person is an aswang, how to deal with them and even how to cure one of the sickness. It also has a lot of stories taken from interviews with a wide array of people. You get to learn of an aswang bird caught near Subic, the delegation of mananangals teachers from another province, the danger of insulting an aswang, and the difference between two types of witches, a mangkukulam and a mambabarang.

His books are not limited to Aswang alone. Within the pages of the books you will get to encounter giants or cafres, headless creatures aptly called pugot, creatures like the bungisngis and other creatures.

For me it truly is an interesting read. So..what are you reading in the next few days?

Time Magazine's All-Time 100 best English Language Novels: 1923 - Present

2005-10-20T15:59:00.000+08:00

I came across this list while reading the blog of the Sassy Lawyer. The list is billed as the all time novels or the one hundred best English-language novels from nineteen hundred and twenty three to the present, which was picked by Time Magazine's critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo.

Heres is the link to the list.
Whenever you come up with a list of best things you end up pleasing and displeasing people. Some would question the choice, criteria used and even the competence of the selectors and even when the selectors' reputation is impeccable it does not stop someone from commenting that perhaps there could have been a better choice - why was this thing selected over the other one? In academic circles they call this peer review, which is based on the principle that comments are made objectively by your comrades in the profession, we laymen call it for what it really is criticism.

The list is an interesting list and I am quite happy to find Animal Farm, The Lord of the Rings, Watchmen and the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in the illustrious roll of novels written in English. But what I find really interesting is the number of books that are familiar because I watched their movie adaptations. Movies like All the King's Men, Lolita, Catch 22, A Clockwork Orange, Ragtime, A Passage to India and French Lieutenant's Woman were examples of successful transition of the stories from the printed word to the moving images. I wonder how much of the original message was retained, lost and transformed in the process of adapting the story for the silver screen.

The list also seems to be a mirror of one's shortcoming as a reader; I have read only a handful books from that list. But then again it is a matter of preference you read what you like or believe you like. And in the end the books on list my be worth a perusal but in the end its one's list that counts; the list covers only novels written in English from the 1920s to the present.

Still I am happy to see the works of CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien and Eric Blair aka George Orwell on the list.

Filipino Heritage Books

2005-10-18T15:52:00.000+08:00

I was doing some research on the case of Governor General Bustamante and his assasination and I returned to one of my old sources for things Filipiniana, the Marcos-sponsored Filipino Heritage Books.

This was probably one of the Marcos-sponsored books that I enjoyed reading. Ten volumes in total the book gives information on the different aspects of the Philippines and Filipinos.

The book is divided into different time periods. Starting from the pre-Spanish Philippines up to the time before Martial Law. And the books are peppered with essays and photo/picture essays of Filipiniana topics related, somewhat, and remotely related to the time period.

In these books you will encounter facts about the barter trade, the national heroes and heels, characters from Rizal's novels and mythological beasts, feasts in Laguna and Manguindanao; and even an article about Ma Mon Luk and siopao, siomai and mami.

Unfortunately, my family does not have a copy of The Philippine Islands 1493-1898 by James A Robertson and Emma Helen Blair, one of definitive sources about the Philippines in English. Even back then these books were expensive and rare. So I had to be content with Filipino Heritage.

It is a nice set of books to grow up with. I only see a few copies of the ten volume set sold now. Maybe they stopped printing these books. It is a shame.

Perhaps they will be able scan the pages of the book and make it available to more people - similar to what they did with Filipiniana Book Guild Series 1 cdrom and the Blair & Robertson books. I was able to get the Filipiniana Book Guild Series 1 a few years ago for around Seven Hundred Pesos . It was worth since the CD-ROM contained a ton of books one in particular, the book titled Romance and Adventure in Old Manila and written by Percy Hill I only saw once in an old antique shop and it was selling for Seven Thousand pesos. I might buy the Blair & Roberton books one of these days at Libros Filipinos.

A mostly harmless book

2005-10-15T15:56:00.000+08:00

There are times when you come across a good find. Something similar to finding a Leprechaun's pot of gold, minus the Leprechaun of course.

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon the science fiction novels of Douglas Adams, otherwise known collectively as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

A brief introduction to the story and the book.

The first incarnation of this story was Radio 4 comedy series. Since its cult success it has been remade as a play, an album a series of books, comic books, a computer game, a tv show, a tea- towel and among other things a big budgeted movie.

I first encountered the story as a comic book series. The first series was called "The Hitchikers' Guide to the Galaxy" and the second series was called "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe". Then the comic series stopped. I am not sure why it did or if it ever did stop. Perhaps, the distributor did not see much profits in it. I guess you cannot make a killing if only people who genuinely read it will actually buy it. But again it could be just me, I lost track of it.

The comic books were funny.

Later however, I have since learned that the books were definetly more funnier. And a few months ago I learned that the first incarnation of the story, the radio plays, were funnier than all the rest. The plethora forms that Adams' tale underwent seemed that it too went into the proverbial improbability drive found in the tale.

Unfortunately, to obtain the radio-plays can be quite costly and it would seem more practical to obtain the book. The DVD/VCD version of the movie can wait. One can easily get that when the price drops.

But how to get the book? Was it worth it buying the whole set of paperbacks? The inner tightwad and spendtrift in me were on a collision course.

It was like a tug-of-war between buying the books and not buying books. Whenever, I passed a bookstore I would always debated with myself on the practicality or impracticality. More often the stingy-side of me would win. Until that fateful day.

On the way home I stopped by one of the small bookstores around Cubao. This particular bookstore was around a tenth of the size of National Book Store, which was a five story building, or that of Fullybooked, which occupied a commercial space for a small supermarket. This petite bookstore was not a thrift bookshop. It was quite elegant and professional in its appearance and ambience. The brown bookshelves and the sofa made it that I think. Anyway, the bookstore had a sale that lasted for the whole month. So I stepped in on more than one occassion to take a look-see at their collection.

What caught my eye was a compilation of Douglas Adams' Hitchikers Guide series in one hardbound book.

Six Stories by Douglas Adams: The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide - The Five Complete Novels and one

And there it was the whole gamut of novels:

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Life the Universe and Everything
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Mostly Harmless
Young Zaphod Plays it Safe

Plus it was on discount, for the price of two paperbacks you can get the whole caboodle,in hardbound. All I had to do now was to wait for payday. My mind was still debating about it though, mentally twiddling the pros and cons of the purchase. The spendthrift in me was sort of humming a tum-tee-tum-tee-dum ditty, it knew it was winning. And the apologist in me was already forumalating justifications.

In the end I bought it and read the first book. As I perused the pages a smile formed in my mouth and small chuckles begin to come out like soap bubbles from an old 1950s waching machine. Here is what I read:

Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.

Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.

This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small
green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

And so the problem remained; lots of the people were mean, and most of them were miserable, even the ones with digital watches. Many were increasingly of the opinion that they'd all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans. And then, one Thursday, nearly two thousand years after one man had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change, one girl sitting on her own in a
small cafe in Rickmansworth suddenly realized what it was that had been going wrong all this time, and she finally knew how the world could be made a good and happy place. This time it was right, it would work, and no one would have to get nailed to anything.

Sadly, however, before she could get to a phone to tell anyone about it, a terribly stupid catastrophe occurred, and the idea was lost forever.

This is not her story.

But it is the story of that terrible stupid catastrophe and some
of its consequences.

It is also the story of a book, a book called The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - not an Earth book, never published on Earth, and until the terrible catastrophe occurred, never seen or heard of by any Earthman.

Nevertheless, a wholly remarkable book. in fact it was probably the most remarkable book ever to come out of the great publishing houses of Ursa Minor - of which no Earthman had ever heard either. Not only is it a wholly remarkable book, it is also a highly successful one - more popular than the Celestial Home Care Omnibus, better selling than Fifty More Things to do in Zero Gravity, and more controversial than Oolon Colluphid's trilogy of philosophical blockbusters Where God Went Wrong, Some More of God's Greatest Mistakes and Who is this God Person Anyway?

In many of the more relaxed civilizations on the Outer EasternRim of the Galaxy, the Hitch Hiker's Guide has already supplanted the great Encyclopedia Galactica as the standard repository of all knowledge and wisdom, for though it has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate, it scores over the older, more pedestrian work in two important respects.

First, it is slightly cheaper; and secondly it has the words Don't Panic inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover. But the story of this terrible, stupid Thursday, the story of its extraordinary consequences, and the story of how these consequences are inextricably intertwined with this remarkable book begins very simply.

It begins with a house.(The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Adams)

It truly is a funny book.

UK Bound

2005-09-29T15:33:00.000+08:00

A Book Safari: No I am not on my way to the United Kingdom to buy books.

The First Bookstore

Last Saturday, on the way to the mall I came across a second hand store along the old Aurora Arcade.

The two story building is situated along Aurora Boulevard near Mercury Drugstore. Fortunately, the store was not on the Aurora side of the building; subjected to the toxic fumes of the jeepneys. It was in front of what used to be the old Queen's grocery store, which is gone now and in its place is big hole filled up with water. Every Sunday RC boat hobbyists race around this green pond. This pond or what I like to call the Cubao Pool is a thriving micro-aquatic ecosystem with fish and green algae.

Right in front of the Cubao pool is a series of shops that sell second hand goods - shoes, clothes, appliances, toys, bicycles and books. There were around two to three rows of books of all kind - hardbounds, tradepaperbacks, mass print and books with other fancy names. Curios I casually browsed the collection. There were a couple of encyclopedias, novels, cookbooks, magazines, bestsellers of yesteryears, comics, and others. I guess there were a number of books in the shop to satisfy most readers. I spotted a collection of culinary magazines, quite useful to epicures. After a few minutes in shop I left. In the end I bought two hard bound books , an English grammar book from Boston and a book that contained the unabridged version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula. A brand new grammar and style book would probably cost me a around three to seven hundred pesos. Dracula and Frankenstein book would cost each around three hundred seventy five pesos for the soft bound edition. These books I got from the second hand store cost me a total of one hundred seventy five pesos. The frugal bookworm in me was to mildly put it overjoyed.

The second bookshop

I learned about this book shop while watching one of those early morning programs on television. The one you watch as you prepare to leave the house. Another second bookstore and another bookstore run by journalists. This should be interesting I said to myself.

Some information about the bookstore:

Bound Bookshop

The best collection of new and read books

Bestsellers: Contemporary/Literary Fiction:Politics/History/Current Events n Food: Children's Books: Art/Design: Photography: Humor: Travel: Biographies/Memoirs:Music:Business:Sexuality: Erotica:Gender Issues: Self-Help/Inspirational: Media/Communications: Entertainment:Health

105-A Scout Castor Street, Laging Handa, Quezon City, Philippines
Telephone: 4117768
Email(?): info@boundbooks.net
URL: wwww.boundbooks.net

The book shop is way much cleaner than the Ukay-Ukay-bookstore (second hand shop) in Cubao. First, it was air-conditioned. Second, it was far more cosy. Third, the books were more neatly arranged.

I left the bookstore whistling and full of happy thoughts.

There were three things that I like about this bookstore. One, the atmosphere (as I mentioned in the second paragraph preceding this one) was cosy. It is not as big as National Book Store or Fully Booked but it was inviting. The shop had a homey feel to it; entering the store was like entering a smal library. Two, they were selling not only new books but also second hand books. So the discriminating and frugal side of the bibliophile was easily satiated by the shop. Three, the shop had books that you cannot easily obtained.

Aside from those three reason the shop is probably one of the few bookshops in Manila or in the Philippine that has clearly marked erotica section. Although, their collection seemed to have been depleted - a pity.

On the other hand I did find a good copy of the Decameron. Hardbound and printed on good paper. This book will last a lifetime and more. The book cost ,e me around a hundred pesos. Not bad for a hardbound copy of the Decameron.

This shop is located near Tomas Morato and Roces avenue: given the traffic it would be best to go ther during a weekend afternoon.

Reading Chinese detective stories

2005-09-22T16:01:00.000+08:00

This weekend I finally finished reading the last Judge Dee detective story I was able to get my hands on. Several weeks ago I was at the Cubao branch of a Different Bookstore; As usual I was checking their collection before proceeding home. If you want to save money do not enter any kind of store just go home. I was fairly confident that I would just be killing time looking at their titles. However, just as I was about to leave I came across a table full of books that had a big red sale beside it. Curious, I looked at the books confident that I would not find anything that would rouse my interest. A couple of Umberto Eco's book , hmm...I said to myself I have read the Name of the Rose and his other works - no rush. Then my eyes scanned down to four books that were designed with several Chinese motifs and flourishes. All were written by one author, the Dutch Diplomat Robert Van Gulik. All were mystery stories.

It had been a long time since I read a mystery novel. Ever since I read Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story The Blue Carbuncle I was entertained by the mystery. In general there are books that you read for knowledge and then there are books you read for pleasure. And if one was lucky you would come across a book that would do both. For me, I like reading a tale where a mystery has to be solved a whodunit. I started with my mother's collection of Sherlock Holmes stories: Holmes with Watson solving a mystery for the King of Bohemia, finding the Blue Carbuncle, and many others. Then there Agatha Christies' Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and the dimunitive Ms Marple; GK Chesterton's Father Brown and Edgar Allan Poe's Dupin. There were of course others stories from Roald Dahl involving a leg of lamb and death. Umberto Eco's book The Name of the Rose is a mystery novel about a series of murder in an abbey during the time religious conflageration and his detective, Brother William of Baskerville, who was supposedly based on the English Franciscan Friar and logician William of Ockham who is responsible for the principle Occams or Ockham's razor - which in plain English states given two predictive theories, choose the simplest.

Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Father Brown and their surrogates have all found their way into cinema. As for Brother William, his role was essayed Sean Connery in the movie adaptation of the Name of the Rose.

What is it with mystery stories? Why are they so addictive? Maybe because I would like to see how the detective solves the story. Or it could be the tension between the criminal and the detective, who would outwit the other. Solution and resolution that could be it.

What is a story but a tale of how a person got from point a to point b.

The Judge Dee stories are a fresh take on the mystery story. In the first place the Chinese mystery stories are different in form from the Western mystery story. First, the main protagonist is a Judge or a Magistrate. In Imperial China the government depended heavily on magistrates; they governed every aspect of life in the city and the surrounding area for 50 miles. The magistrates collected the taxes, managed the civil records, resolved disputes and solved cases. If a crime was committed in a society they were responsible for solving, failure to solve the case would affect their advancement in the hierarchy of power. Second, a Chinese mystery story often involves the Judge solving two or three cases in one story, a judge would often be investigating more than one crime case at a time and it is not unsual that the investigation may take some time. The twists and turns in the story makes it exciting. Third, the Chinese mystery story is faithful to the prevailing judicial process in Imperial China, which allowed the limited use of torture (to be administered in public) in order to gain a confession. This was important because it was vital to get a confession from the criminal, you could not impose a sentence if the criminal confessed to the crime. Of course, torture alone was not enough and it was limited - because if a witness died under torture, it would be the judge and the tribunal who would be stripped of power and be the recipient of the same punishment. As such the judge had to out-think the suspect and the criminal in order to get to the truth. Fourth, the story always ended with the punishment of the guilty part.

Judge Dee is the main protagonist of the story and he is aided in his adventures by four assistanst. One is his old and most trusted servant Hoong Liang, whom Dee appointed as Sergeant of the Tribunal. When a judge starts his career he has to appoint four assistants who are permanently attached to him. The other members of the tribunal change when he goes to a new assignment every three years but the four remain with him. Most of the time these were people the judge trusted and it would not be uncommon for them to have checkered pasts. The remaining three assistants of Dee were Ma Joong, Chiao Tai and Tao Gan. The first two were former highway men (euphemistically called Brothers of the Greenwood) and the last Tao Gan was a reformed con-man and criminal. Judge Dee and his assistants through investigation, subterfuge, martial and criminal skills attempt to solve the crimes that were committed in the district.

The tales are quite interesting often involving murder, plots against the Imperial throne, smuggling and intrigue. Van Gulik interwoves each piece of the story that it keeps you interested till the resolution of each case. What is more intriguing is that Van Gulik based most of the mysteries on actual court cases he had discovered during his study of the Chinese mystery stories and perusals of ancient records. The hero of his story is a real life Judge and renowned statesman, Dee Jen- Djieh or Ti Jien-Chieh from the Tang Dynasty, who was able survive political intrigue, escape from jail and convinced the power Empress Wu to appoint the rightful heir to the throne. Van Gulik used Judge Dee and embellished his characters with traits from other figures from China, like Pao Kung or Judge Pao.

Aside from the mystery and characters from Ancient China, Van Gulik makes each story exciting because it details the activities and events of China during that time. The life in a walled city is look at, the beliefs and customs of the people are discussed, even the food served in restaurants are described fully and other things that happen in that time time is written down. And Van Gulikdoes this with an unbiased eye; giving a balanced fictional treatment of life during the Tang dynasty. This may be due to the fact that Van Gulik extensively studied Chinese culture durng his days in the Dutch diplomatic service in China and Japan; He also wanted to depart from the stereotypical Chinese characters seen in Western literature at that time. He was writing of a Chinese society before the introduction of opium.

This books are a reprint of the original books by Van Gulik. A quick check over at Amazon.com showed that he actually wrote more and this indicates a good commercial run for the book.

After reading the first book, I ended up buying the last three. Fortunately, the books were on sale - A Different Bookstore was selling them for half their actual price.

If you want a fresh compelling mystery story with cultural insights into Chinese culture look for these books.

Author: Robert Van Gulik (1910-1967)

Books:
A Judge Dee Detective Story: The Chinese Gold Murders
A Judge Dee Detective Story: The Chinese Lake Murders
A Judge Dee Detective Story: The Chinese Bell Murders
A Judge Dee Detective Story: The Chinese Nail Murders

Book Curses and Anathemas

2005-09-16T15:11:00.000+08:00

When I was starting blogging one of the topics that caught my interest were book curses. The use of book curses, threat of excommunication and anathema were used extensively during the Middle Ages as a way of controlling book theft, the other method was to chain the book to the table or to the shelf.

CURSE, EXCOMMUNICATION & ANATHEMA

A brief definition of the terms may be needed to fully understand the design and intent of each curse. A curse is an appeal or prayer for harm to come to a person or a thing. An excommunication is the exclusion of an individual from a community. And anathema is a person or thing denounced, cursed and excommunicated. Generally, a curse involves bodily or physical harm while both excommunication and anathema involves religious and social seperation from the community. What is involved in a curse is the physical well-being, while the excommunication and anathema will deal not only with the physical, but also the spiritual and social aspect of a person or a thing. An excommunication can be lifted by absolution or forgiveness, while the anathema is almost permenant, it nearly cannot be lifted.

Most of the curses can be found in the articles written by Mike Cox and Sandra Anderson's article entitled,"Bibliomania and the Medieval Book Curse". And most of the curses and anathemas they cited can be found in Marc Drogin's book "Anathema!: Medieval Scribes and the History of Book Curses.". The book was published in 1983 and is said to be out-of-print, but a quick check at Amazon.com showed that you can still get some copies if you want to.

Interesting if you can put this in one's library or on one's book plate.

I. CURSES

The first curse comes from Assyrian King Assurbanipal:

The palace of Ashur-bani-pal, king of hosts, king of Assyria, who putteth his trust in the gods Ashur and Belit . . . I have transcribed upon tablets the noble products of the work of the scribe which none of the kings who had gone before me had learned, together with the wisdom of Naub insofar as it existeth {in writing}. I have arranged them in classes, I have revised them and I have placed them in my palace, that I, even I, the ruler who knoweth the light of Ashur, the king of the gods, may read them. Whosoever shall carry off this tablet, or shall inscribe his name on it, side by side with mine own, may Ashur and Belit overthrow him in wrath and anger, and may they destroy his name and posterity in the land (Drogin,1983)

Whoever steals this book
Will hang on a gallows in Paris,
And, if he isn't hung, he'll drown.
And, if he doesn't drown, he'll roast.
And, if he doesn't roast, a worse end will befall him(Drogin,1983)

Drogin(1983) from a 16th century missal in France:

Should anyone by craft of any device whatever abstract this book from this place may his soul suffer, in retribution for what he has done, and may his name be erased from the book of the living and not recorded among the Blessed

A Medievel book curse allegedly from the monastery of San Pedro in Barcelona. Not only for the book thief but for the delinquent borrower.

For him that stealeth, or borroweth and returneth not, this book from its owner, let it change into a serpent in his hand and rend him. Let him be struck with palsy, and all his members blasted. Let him languish in pain crying out for mercy, & let there be no surcease to his agony till he sing in dissolution. Let bookworms gnaw his entrails [. . .] when at last he goeth to his final punishment, let the flames of Hell consume him forever.(Basbanes,1995)

II. ALMOST AN EXCOMUNICATION

Should anyone by craft of any device whatever abstract this book from this place may his soul suffer, in retribution for what he has done, and may his name be erased from the book of the living and not recorded among the Blessed(Drogin,1983)

III. EXCOMMUNICATION

This comes from 13th century England -

This is the book of St. James of Wigmore. If anyone take it away or maliciously destroys this notice in taking it away from the above-mentioned place, may he be tied by the change of greater excommunication. Amen. So it be. So it be. So it be.(Drogin,1983)

IV. ANATHEMA

If anyone steal it, let him be anathema!
Whoever finds fault with it, let him be accursed.
Amen.(Drogin,1983)

May the sword of anathema slay
If anyone steals this book away(Drogin,1983)

V. SOMETHING EXTRA:

This is probably not a curse but might be useful for people who will be reading your book.

Quisquis quem tetigerit
Sit illi lota manus.(Drogin,1983)

Translation

Please wash your hands
Before touching this book.(Drogin,1983)

VI. REFERENCES:

Anderson, Sandra.Bibliomania and the Medieval Book Curse. Written for the LIS 586 - History of the Book course at the University of Alberta. (Posted to the web in March 2003 as part of a capping exercise for the completion of my Master of Library and Information Studies degree.)
http://www.slis.ualberta.ca/cap03/sandra/index.html

Basbanes, Nicholas A. A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books. New York: Henry Holt & Co, 1995

Cox, Mike. "Books often included poetic warnings, curses to alert borrowers".Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.Copyright 1997.
http://lubbockonline.com/news/102697/073-3765.htm

Drogin, Marc. Anathema! Totowa, NJ: Allenheld & Schram, 1983.

Ways to get a book

2005-09-13T15:03:00.000+08:00

When one is a bibliophile. And is eternally in search of books to read one will learn eventually that there five ways to get a book.

The bibliophile can buy.
The bibliophile can browse.
The bibliophile can borrow.
The bibliophile can inherit or recieve.
The bibliophile can steal.

The first option seemingly is of course to buy. However, this can cause a sharp drop in the financial reserves of the book lover. There are of course other options than buying first-hand books, you can always buy previously owned or second hand books. The advanatge here is that the price is lower. Just make sure that the book that you get is of good quality - no missing pages, still in nicely binded, and the paper will not disintegrate in your hand. Always think Caveat Emptor !

Browsing is of course done always in the bookstore. It is a good way to kill time. Most bookstores tolerate this, some even like A Different Bookstore encourages this. The plus side to this is that its free. The downside side is you have to be fast reader or you have to go back to finish the book. Also there is a limited number of chairs and floor space available.

Borrowing a book is also a good strategy, Two sources of books for borrowing are public libraries and private libraries, owned by friends and relatives. It is a shame that there are not that many libraries here in the Philippines. In other countries, you just need to go to the library to get a book. Public libraries that I know of include the National Library and the Pasig Library, there may be more unfortunately I am not aware of them. There are also the libraries sponsored by corporate entities and foreign government - Goethe Institute, the British Counciland the Heritage Library (Ayala). I am not quite sure if the British Council still maintains a library, I was able to read a lot of Tolkien and CS Lewis books from their collection, I just paid 300 pesos for the library card. There are of course the school and university libraries, available to students and faculty, but in certain cases also available to the alumni. And then there are the friends and relatives, these are people close to you and will probably not mind lending a book or two you, unless you are a bad borrower, which is almost bordering on stealing.

The most fortunate way to get a book is if somebody were to give it to you. Its a thing given with love and affection. Unfortunately, most often love and affection does not equal taste in books. So please make sure your friends know what you like, but you have to be subtle a little bit overdone recipient of books designed to make fun of you or you will not get any book at all. Of course with inheritance that is another matter. Fortunate is he who has inherited a library from someone with excellent taste or whose tastes are similar to that of the heir. I wonder who inherited Rizal's library? Must have been Josephine Braken or maybe it was one of his sisters.

Not returning a book is stealing. Stealing is quite dangerous and will often lead you to jail. In the past though a lot of celebrated book stealers had a round-about way of stealing books. A Pope used to just get the books he fancies. And Shi Huang Ti of China ordered all non-essential books confiscated and burned.

In the old days book were highly valued. Nearly all were hand-written and hand-crafted. Monasteries and abbies were producing them and storing them. Some of the books were even chained to the table to prevent someone from stealing. Curses were also used to scare potential book robbers. Of course, the chain and the curse did not deter the book stealer from securing his prey.

So many ways to get a book.

Books from the book fair

2005-09-12T15:51:00.000+08:00

I waited till the last day to go to the book fair. Despite the change in venue a lot of people went to the event. And I probably know now why they switched venue from a mall to the World Trade Center along Roxas. After several years, NBS and Powerbooks participated in the event.

There really was a lot of people there, We had to wait in line for 30 minutes before getting in. It was worth it. I ended up buying some Filipiniana books, most of them from the NHI booth, must be the influence of Ambeth Ocampo - the present chairman of NHI. I regularly follow his column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer and re-read a lot of his books.

Some of the books I was able to get hold of:

Tristes Recuerdos Manila

The book is a pictorial album of the Philippine revolution against Spain. Tristes Recuerdos means Sad Memories and it must not be forgotten that for the Spaniards the revolution, which they called El Gran Catastrophe or Great Catastrophe, heralded the end of their empire. The album certain events from August 30 to September 4, 1896. In particular an uprising of the Katipunan led locally by Sancho Valenzuela. Its an interesting set of memorabilia from the past. Among the photos were shots of executed Sancho Valenzuela and three others - Modesto Sarmiento, Eugenio Silvestre, and Ramon Peralta.

The Miag-ao Church: A Historical Landmark

Miag-ao Church is one of the most beautiful church in the Philippines. The book details the history of the churh and the improvements that were done to it. It also details the reason it was a heritage. I also liked this book because it reminds me of the days I went to that church for two years. A few kilometers from the town of Miag-ao is the University of the Philippines in the Visayas , my alma mater for my Bachelor of Science Degree.

A couple of comic books: Y & Alec

2005-09-08T15:17:00.000+08:00

A few weeks ago, I was able to read a couple of comic book: a contemporary American comic book from Vertigo and a comic book about a graphic novel.

Why Y?

I first learned of the comic book from my friend Inggo. The comic book was published by DC's off the beaten track sister company Vertigo. The same company responsible for producing the Sandman, Swamp Thing and Preacher.

Y is a tale about the last man on Earth; Yorick and his monkey named Ampersand or the symbol of "and". A unknow plague has infected the whole planet killing all mammals with the Y chromosome. Females have the XX chromosome while the males have XY. Its the Y is the chromosome that makes the males...well males.

Our hero Yorick and his pet monkey must go on a quest of sorts ,aided by a secret service agent know only by her number. A journey through America, during the journey must contend with visceral man-hatting amazons and agents of Israeli all-female military leadership, to discover why he was the last man to survive and to eventually find a way to be with his girlfriend in Australia!

So far this seems to be an interesting story. The paper does not seem to be of good quality and I mean not as nice as the paper Sandman or other TPB are printed on. Good smooth paper means the comic book will last longer. A good story deserves to last a long time, well as long as it can anyway.

Y: The Last Man - Unmanned
Brian K Vaughan/Writer
Pia Guerra/Penciller
Jose Marzan Jr/Inker
Pamela Rambo/Colorist
Clem Robins/Letterer
JG Jones/ Original Series Cover
Vertigo Comics

Something about Alec

Alec is about the life of British comic artist Alec. The Graphic Novel deals with the progress and set-backs of Alec. The book also chronicles the development of the Graphic Novel from the viewpoint the British Comic Book artist character.

The comic book is a revelation, because mid-way the main character muses about not only his life but diverts his attention to the story of the Graphic Novel, its rise and fall as he often quipped. Alec tells several stories and share his opinion about Alan Moore,Dave Sim, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison,Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird and others. Alec reminices a lot of encounters and stories with Alan Moore. For a comic afficionado who grew up reading a lot Alan Moore's work the tales were... interesting. Especially Moore's relationship with Dave Sim.

I wonder how close to home the story of Alec is to that of the writer and artist who created this comic book Eddie Campbell? How much is artistic license and how much is the truth. Perhaps, a great deal.

FYI, Eddie Campbell is the creator of Bacchus and illustrator of From Hell (As if you do not know).

A nice comic book. An interesting comic book fans. And perhaps a necessary comic book for comic book artists and writers. Plus the paper it was printed was white, smooth and nice.

Alec: How to be an artist
by Eddie Campbell
Eddie Campbell Comics
2001

The Book Fair: A picture essay

2005-09-06T12:05:00.000+08:00

We, went last Sunday to the bookfair. Surprises, National Book Store and Powerbooks were there. The queue going in was long but the wait was worth it as you will see.

Book fair and cheap Filipiniana Books

2005-09-01T15:32:00.000+08:00

Today is the start of the annual book fair. A friend of mine sent me a text message saying that he was at the book fair. According to him there were several good buys. Now the first thing on my mind was, what was he doing in the middle of the week in the book fair?

My friend has the advantage of being University professor, a denizen of the ivory tower. And as one of the elite educators he has a flexible work schedule. Or he was able to reason to his department chairman the reason he has to be there. Its the same reason he once bought a magazine with nearly half-clad women and chalked it up to academic study. I think he even got reimbursed for that magazine. Another advantage my friend has is a cash flow Midas would even envy. Such is life.

Veering away from my friend slightly and focusing on the book fair, he told me that there were several books on sale and almost half their price. Not suprisingly because it is a book fair. Undeniably, my friend had a good time. I wonder how many sacks of books he bought?

One thing he did tell me that was interesting is that several historical books published by the National Historical Institute (NHI) were selling at almost a steal. I was not surprised with this since even without the book fair these books are regularly sold at a steal. I remember buying a couple of NHI books at Popular Book Store a year ago and they were of good quality - hardbound and nice paper. And of course for me good reads. Several were translations into english of Filipiana books written in French, Spanish, German and Italian. Most were journals or travel tales of Europeans during the Spanish Colonial Period. The books were insightful.

I wonder, why do these books do not sell well?

Another friend of mine commented that nobody buys NHI books because they were boring. Its a pity. There are several interesting tales in these NHI books. I remember the tale of a French farmer in Laguna who journey from his farm in order to avoid the ennui of a Spanish Christmas only to be part of another Christmas celebration in another town, along the way he talks about bandits and indios with his man friday. Or the tale of fiestas in Pasig, the limestone of Guadalupe and the murder and execution of Augustinians priests inside the walled city. Interesting tales.

My friend will be dropping by Makati later, actually in a few minutes. The advantages of millionaire academic.

Book from the past

2005-08-31T15:22:00.000+08:00

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

2005-08-25T16:58:00.000+08:00

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

2005-08-22T14:55:00.000+08:00

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

2005-08-18T15:08:00.000+08:00

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

2005-08-16T14:33:00.000+08:00

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?

2005-08-15T12:22:00.000+08:00

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

2005-08-09T16:05:00.000+08:00

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?

2005-08-09T16:03:00.000+08:00

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

2005-08-05T17:20:00.000+08:00

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

2005-08-02T15:23:00.000+08:00

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

On Comic Books

2005-07-28T14:48:00.000+08:00

I used to remember when comic compilations or lengthy comics were called trade paperbacks. I was not an avid comic collector till I was introduced to it by my friends in high school. And even then did not get into to it till my late college years.

Before my serious comic collecting days. I bought comics that were on sale. My first comic book was the Spanish version Katzenjammer Kids trade paperback. There were of course the B&W comics revival of Tom & Jerry, Little Lota, and company. Majority of my comic reading came from the comic strip section of the local paper The Bulletin Today. Of course local comics with the exploits of Zuma, although I was only able to get to read those comics seldomly. My first serious collection was Nonoy Marcelo's Ikabod. And of course Mad Magazine.

My comic collecting in late college because of two reasons. A friend, Gobbie, introduced me the hobby and I had an income. I mainly collected DC comic stuff, Batman and a couple off-the mainstream titles - like Etrigan and Sandman, some eventually became DC/Vertigo titles.
Two things I like for when choosing a comic book. The story and the art. Maybe that is the reason my collection expanded to other comic books within and outside of the DC universe.

Then I stopped.

This was the day when Neil Gaiman's run on Sandman ended. I still buy from time to time, months will go by till I buy a new comic book, trade paperback or what they call now graphic novel.

My favourite comic books:

Ikabod, Dagang Sosyal
Barefoot Gen (lettered in Tagalog)
Batman: The Killing Joke
Bloom County
Sandman: Ramadan
Sandman Vol 6: Fables & Reflections
Grendel: Devil by the Deed
Ranma 1/2
Crying Freeman
Groo
MAD
Dilbert
Watchmen
Illustrated Classics: Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary
Baron & Rude: Nexus
MadMan

A great number of these comic books I still have and while the others seem to have slipped through the curtain of time. Borrowed and never returned or went missing or sold.
Still some recovered or re-bought, if such a term exsists.

I did buy a graphic novel during Neil Gaiman's visit. Maybe I will look again in a month or two or even three.

Comics are a wonderful and informative form of fiction, a blend of art and literature. In the past I used to encounter people who viewed comics as something juvenile and pedestrian, oh well that is their view on it. My take on it is they have not yet sampled the works of Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller or Alan Moore or Nonoy Marcelo or Keiji Nakazawa. Well, as they say to each his own. All I can say is they are missing a lot.

Neil Gaiman at Rockwell

2005-07-26T12:25:00.000+08:00

I mentioned in my other posts that I went to the Neil Gaiman "Gathering". It was a pain in the gluteus maximus but it was worth it. I have selected the better pictures in the lot.

People viewing the entries to the art competition.

Neil Gaiman talking about the video clips from Mirror Mask.

Dracula by Bram Stroker

2005-07-25T14:11:00.000+08:00

It is one of the few epistolary novels that I have read. A epistolary novel is a novel that uses letters, diary entries, newspaper clippings and others to tell the story. Epistolary is derived from the word epistles or letters.

Another example of a epistolary novel is Pierre Choderlos de Laclos novel "Les Liasons Dangereuses" (Dangerous Liaisons) first published in 1782.

Both Dracula and Dangerous Liaisons have been re-interpreted in cinema. The movie Dangerous Liaisons was critically accliamed and starred Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer and Keannu Reeves. The tale was re-interpreted in Sarah Michelle Gellar , Ryan Philippe, and Reese Witherspoon's movie "Cruel Intentions". While the story of Bram Stroker's Dracula has seen several cinematic interpretations through the years. Starting with FW Murnau's "Nosferatu". Unable to get rights to Bram Stroker's work Murnau simply did some changes to the story, one of them involved the changing of the name from Count Dracula to Count Orlok.

Dracula of course was not the first Vampire fiction. There was of course Dr John William Polidori's The Vampyre, published April 1819. The origin of this story came out of an idea of Lord Byron, who suggested on a June night, after he and his guests (which included the Percy Shelley, Mary Wolfstonecraft Shelley, Claire Clairmont and Polidori) was reading aloud from the Tales of the Dead, that they write a ghost story. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein while Byron wrote and abandoned a fragment of the story that became the basis of The Vampyre. Polidori's main character was a vampire called Lorth Ruthven, loosely based on Lord Byron himself.

There is also the James Malcom Rymer's (or was it Thomas Preskett Prest's) story of Varney the Vampire or the Feast of Blood.

Bram Stroker's Dracula though is still popular up to the present. The actors essaying the roles have become icons. Bela Lugosi's is the archetypal Dracula with the cape and the accent while Chrisopher Lee has became the visceral and sexual representation of Count Dracula.

Despite the movie and the different spin-offs including the film Blackula: Dracula's Soul Brother, how can you not enjoy this movie? Dracula's soul brother. The original story can stand on its own.

The epistolary style provides the reader with the different views of the situation from Jonathan Harker, Mina Harker and Dr Van Helsing writings. Fresh blood is injected to the story as news clippings and notes from other characters are added.

Reading Bram Stroker's Dracula is similar to doing retrospective search. As if you are taken back in time to conduct an investigation of the whole affair. The journal entries, letters and news clipping gives the reader a genuine and up-close feel for the horror.

Audio Books

2005-07-19T14:39:00.000+08:00

In one of my posts mentioned the huge amount of audio books on sale at National Book Store. In that post I revealed that I was able to buy a small bag of audio book.

What is an audio book?

Well as far as I know audio books. Are recorded narrations of literary works, fiction or non-fiction.

My first encounter with this type of audio book was a tape containing the recorded narration of Richard Lederer's Anguished English. A book about the idiosyncracies of the English language. The book was of course a hilarious read and suprisingly the audio book was as funny. The narrator was of course the author Richard Lederer. Often times the audio book is narrated by the author but there are also instances when an actor would be the reader/narrator or storyteller if the book dealt with fiction. Most of the audio books readers I encountered were British actors - Stephen Fry, Tim Currie, and Imelda Stanton.

Most of the other audio books you see in the bookstore today belong business and self-help literature. Im OK Your Fine tome or the leadership secrets of Atilla the Hun (slash and burn). These do not appeal to me, unless they are perhaps portrayed in a funny manner.

The other type of audio book is the radio play. These are the dramatisations of stories. Before Internet, cable TV and TV there was radio. There were even variety shows on radio. During the onset of Martial Law I regularly listened to Gabi ng Lagim and Simatar on local radio.

One the best hoaxes ever done was Orson Welles radio teleplay of War of the Worlds. He shifted the story from England to the US and modified the form of storytelling to make it look like a live broadcast. And people believed it a lot of people panicked. And naturally were not thrilled when Welles announced that the radioplay was a prank.

Radio plays are entertaining. The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy first came out as a radio play. And even Tolkien's Lord of the Ring Trilogy was completey adapted to Radio predating Jackson's version of the trilogy. Ian Holm , who later played Bilbo in the movie, was Frodo and Bill Nighy, the funny and eccentric rock star in "Love Actually", played Sam.

By now you might have an inkling of what audio books I bought. Well it was shall we say an odd bunch of Radio Dramatisations. The two audio books I listen to often are Yes Minister and Old Hal's Game.

Yes Minister are the audio recordings of the BBC satire of British Politics and Government. Filled with sarcasm, repartee and wit it is unabashedly funny. It does however give one's pause about the merit of a parliamentary system

Old Hal's Game is a comedy set in Hell. Satan tortures sinners and by an odd set of luck is plagued by scientist who initially does not believe he is hell. Throughout the series Satan punishes with satiric impunity, survives a rebellion, tries to find an assistant. Its cast include the killer dolphin chuckles and Nigel the almighty.

Yes, I do like audiobooks, both readings and dramatisations.

What to read during interesting times: Animal Farm

2005-07-13T14:43:00.000+08:00

The Chinese have a curse that goes,"May you live in interesting times". I first heard the phrase a few years before EDSA I and now I think the quotation is also apt. Whether you are pro, anti or non of the above Philippine politics is in a chrysalis. My assessment of the situation is that despite the stormy nature of the body politics is that it is in a process of consolidation.

Below the office I work in I could hear the drums of the rallyists. The political opposition has made a promise to muster around a million people. In today's world and in particular in the Philippine setting political foes use people rather than armies to fight their wars. Its the number of people one can muster for a rally or an election that counts and like before it is the alliances and loyalties between political leaders that count. And like any society the Army and organised religion have their role to play.

The more one studies history the more one understands that the story of man follows a basic outline. One can see history repeat itself from age to age.

The Roman Republic suffered several civil wars between warring Tribunes and Pro-Consuls before stability was restored. And our country although we have not suffered nationwide civil war, the problem Muslim Separatists is more area oriented while the Communists have became a quasi-bandit force, have undergone the pain of civil disobedience mixed military intervention. The psychological strain on both the Republican Romans and Filipinos are nearly the same. Well, it could be the psychological strain we feel right now seems to be akin also to the strain carried by the English from the time of Charles I, Cromwell and Charles II. England underwent the eradication of the monarchy, then the rule of a Lord Protector and eventually settled in restoring the monarchy. Cromwell's , the Lord Protector, body was dug up and quartered immediately after Charles II was restored. In the end whether in Stuart England or the Roman Republic after the stormy struggle came a consolidation. Again I think we are at this point.

With that aside one book that I really liked reading in terms of politics is a book written by George Orwell.

The story is about a group of animals who liberated themselves from an oppresive farmer. And it also tells the tale of what happened afterward.

A fairy tale written by George Orwell as a criticism of the romantic view of Communist revolution but I think more important for us it is a reminder to us not to be carried away by the romantic notions of revolutions or change.

How does this tie in with our present situation and my notion of consolidation? Well its quite obvious given the present circumstances that we are in that we should not be taken by the romantic aspects of revolution and change. As far as consolidation goes its the same as revolutions although stabilizing one should look at carefully...very carefully.

The name of the book is Animal Farm: A Fairy Story by George Orwell, first published in 1946.

The Weekend Neil Gaiman came to the Philippines

2005-07-12T08:25:00.000+08:00

This weekend saw the seesaw battle in the realm of Philippine politics. However, it was also the week that writer Neil Gaiman came to the Philippines. One has to thank the Almighty also for small blessings. Although the event might be viewed as trivial by some given the current political impasse, but I think its important also to remember that politics is not the sole preoccupation of a person and there is a need to step back and enjoy the roses so to speak.

Saturday, I had just reached Rockwell from Greenhills where I was checking out the price of this Mazinger Z die-cast metal toy at a shop in Shoppesville, the price for this less than six inches figurine was one thousand four hundred and thirty or eighty pesos. The event was scheduled to start at around 3:00 in the afternoon at the tent, since there is only one tent in Rockwell it would not be difficult to find. Meandering through the mall one notices several people cruising around. This was a weekend. Although were they there also to escape the news of politics? Retreating from the drumbeat of political discourse. GMA had not yet resign. Whatever one’s opinion is about this woman one had to admit she is resolute and strong willed.

The restaurants were full to the brim, it was lunchtime, and so it took some time before I was able to eat.

It was fascinating to see other people reading a lot of Neil Gaiman books in front of me. Sales must have really picked up. At one coffee shop I espied a burly man reading Stardust. Inside KFC were a group of Filipino Goths carrying their copies of Gaiman’s “Death: The High Cost of Living”. And then there was this guy who seemed to have stepped out of comic book, black cape and all. Not it was not a cape but a black gown, the one what one wears during graduation. Maybe he was about to graduate.

Needless to say, there were a lot of people outside the tent. Unfortunately there were no lines. So nearly everyone was massing up the single entrance to the tent. Among the mass of people assembled I overheard a lot of people complaining about the signing mechanics, especially the ones who had bought books from the store. Maybe Fullybooked should look into this the next time they have a book signing event. Just before 3 in the afternoon the doors opened and the crowd like water rushed in and quickly filled up the place.

Inside the tent were the stage, a few kiosks selling food, souvenirs and of course books and comics. No seats were provided except for two or three rows near the stage and were secured from the crowd by a small white fence. The crowd inside was an odd assemblage of people, comic book fans, Goths, geeks, artistic types and a few others. There were also some who seemed to have just recently embraced Gaiman’s work and also purchased his stuff a few moments before the event took place. I hope they enjoy the book, because they did not get it signed that day.

A rock band opened the event for Neil Gaiman. It seemed odd to me the whole event had the touch and feel of a concert. People even screamed when Gaiman went on stage. Gaiman told us that we, the crowd, were noisier than the Brazilians. Not livelier but nosier. He read a passage from his new novel Anansi Boys, showed a preview and a documentary about Mirrormask , and answered some questions taken from the egroup, maybe they asked him why does he always prefer to wear black shirts. In between that and after the events Neil Gaiman was signing books, around 500 to 700 people obtained signing passes for that day. The book signing lasted up to 1 in the morning. And then there was of course the raffle. Well I did not win the raffle but is a one in a million shot right. For me I was just happy to see one of my favourite authors in the flesh and get to hear him talk about his work.

The crowds for the book signing last Sunday and yesterday were legion and the lines serpentine..

One thing I brought home from the Gaiman event though was the colds. I ended up convalescing a cold until Monday with tea and calamansi juice, which Neil has taken a licking to . I still am happy though I was part of the event. Now thinking about buying the soon-to-come-out novel the Anansi Boys.

Neil Gaiman: Book signing mechanics - July 9 to 11

2005-07-06T14:25:00.000+08:00

I have been a fan of Neil Gaiman's work since I came across the Sandman storyline "Season of the Mists. After I had finished reading of Morpheus and his quest to free the woman he loved and condemned to hell (in the process inheriting Hell and resolving what to do with it), I tried to get all his comic books. I completed most of the Sandman stuff by buying the HC/SC tradepaperbacks, acquiring four comic books in Singapore when I went there, and by luck finding an old special Sandman tale from Filbars. This was the time when they just released Image comics and comic shops were sprouting like mushrooms all over the place.

I liked Neil Gaiman's tales because they took me not only to realm of fantasy and magic but he also interweaves them with the mythologies from different ages and continents. It was not-uncommon then for the Norse god Loki, Thor and Odin to meet the Egyptian Gods or the deities created from comics likes the Lord of Order and Chaos.

Do not get me wrong I also collected other sorts of comics and manga. The Killing Joke and Watchmen are still on list of top favourite comics, along with Nonoy Marcelo's Ikabod and Tisoy or Larry Alcala's Still Life. However, whenever I saw Neil Gaiman's name printed on the cover my attention seems to be drawn to that comic or magazine.

He wrote good stories. Eventually though he had to move on and although I still collected comic books my drive waned to the point of buying once in a blue moon, compared to before when I was buying every week.

I never got to buying his novels. Some of my friends says its good and some say otherwise. I do not know I have not read them. Call it my infantile loyalty to his works in comic books, they call it Graphic Novels now but its still comic books.

It would be interesting how his visit will turn out. Will he get carpal tunnel syndrome from signing all the books? Does he have screaming fans like Chopin had? Its hard to imagine women swooning and fainting while Chopin played the piano, or is it? What other sort of things will happen? What will be his impression of the Philippines and Filipino Society?

One thing is certain this is a good marketing and money-earning gimmick for Fully Booked. But it is a win-win situation.

I have bored you enough so here are the details for the book signing event.

---------------------------------------------------------

Source: gaiman_fullybooked-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

ADDENDUM TO THE NEIL GAIMAN BOOK SIGNING PASS:

To the members of the "Gaiman in Manila Yahoogroup",

We want to thank you for all the feedback we have been receiving. It has been a great help to us in terms of making this event as good as it should be for Neil and for you all. So, we are happy to announce that THE BOOK SIGNING WILL BE OPEN TO EVERYONE since we want as many of you to enjoy and be a part of all the activities.

No book pass will be necessary if you want ONLY ONE (1) ITEM signed. Should you wish Neil to sign more items, the mechanics are as follows:

1. Beginning from June 15-July 11, 2005, for every purchase of any Neil Gaiman book in any FULLY BOOKED (The Powerplant Mall, Gateway Mall and the Promenade Greenhills- soon to open), BIBLIARCH (Glorietta 3 and Waltermart (Pasong Tamo)) and SKETCHBOOKS (Greenbelt 3) branch, you will be receive a book signing pass. The maximum number of passes you may use at one time is 3 (for 3 items).

2. You may use the book-signing pass at any of the book signing venues:

July 9 (Saturday)- 3:00 pm at the Rockwell Tent, The Powerplant Mall
July 10 (Sunday)- 2:00 pm at Fully Booked in the Promenade Greenhills (open on July 8)
July 11 (Monday)- 4:30 pm at Fully Booked in Gateway Mall

3. Each book-signing pass has a one-time validity (it will be marked and returned to you to keep as a souvenir).

4. Each book-signing pass will have a corresponding raffle ticket, giving you the chance to get to know Neil Gaiman over dinner on July 11, 2005.

5. Summary of Mechanics:

No pass- One (1) item signed
1 pass- Two (2) items signed
2 passes- Three (3) items signed
3 passes- Four (4) items signed

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you then!
----------------------------------------------------------------------

There will also be a raffle for those who bought Neil Gaiman's books or comics. To qualify you have to at least buy one comic book, cheapest is around 900 pesos, or two novels, around 900 pesos also.

Filipino bookworms ranked no 3

2005-06-29T07:54:00.000+08:00

Everyday I read a couple of articles from the websites of Philippine newspapers and media outfits. To get the facts out in this country you really have to read two or accounts of the event from the different media entities. Today as I was perusing the Philippine Inquirer I came across an article a few rows below the PGMA-related articles. Alcuin Papa reported that a survey conducted by the global market research organization NOP World .

The following link will take you to INQ7.net :
Filipinos No. 3 among world's bookworms
http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=41791

The NOP World Culture Score index was a survey of taken from December 2004 to February 2005 and the study involved 30,000 consumers above the age of 13 from 30 countries.

On a weekly basis, Filipinos spend an average of 7.6 hours reading books, newspapers and magazine. Beating the Americans, who came in 23rd with 5.7 hours, and the British ,who spent 5.3 hours and were ranked 26th. The Japanese spent 4.1 hours and the Koreans who spent 3.1 hours. Indian bookworms came out on top with 10.7 hours while the Chinese came in second with eight hours.

NOP analysts explained that self-help and inspirational reading may explain India's high figures.

In the same survey, Filipinos came in second as the top tv watchers in the world. According to the survey, Filipinos on weekly basis spend on the average 21 hours watching the telly. Our neighbors the Thais spend at least 22.4 hours a week in front of the boob tube.

And the Taiwanese spend the most time after work surfing the Internet. They spend at least 12.6 hours each day in front of the computer. We on the other hand, again according to the survey spend on the average 9.8 hours, the article was not clear whether this figure is a daily or weekly average.

So Filipinos also came in as top TV watchers. This is sort of paradoxical since it was suggested that time spent on reading meant fewer hours in front of the TV set and listening to the radio. So how do you reconcile this? Interesting findings.

It would also have been interesting to find out what was the predominant reading material or reading material of choice: books, newspapers, magazines or others.

In our old class in Philippine publishing it was revealed that missalette was the most read and published periodical. This was of course a few years ago. Things might have change by now.

Bookstore: Datelines

2005-06-21T08:10:00.000+08:00

Inside the u-shaped shoe district of Cubao, also known as Shoe Expo, lies a bookstore. Chanced upon the bookstore last week when I was walking home with a friend. Now Shoe Expo has seen better days. I used to remember buying shoes from the Otto stores there. There are still shoe stores there but I do not know if they are making money. Some of the stores, those located in the horizontal part of the u are gone.

Shoe Expo

In its place is Bellini's Italian Restaurant. An authentic Italian restaurant that serves, according to its patrons, one of the best osso buco in Metro Manila. Me I like the pasta and the place is not very pricey. It has its own home-grown charm. Bellinis has been there for years and I did not really notice the two other stores till I passed by last week.

Bellinis

The store immediately next to Bellini's is a funky pop art antique shop called Vinatge Pop. Old chairs from the sixties. Old SLR cameras that are probably alien to most people using digital cameras. I also spoted old projectors, along with other assorted memorabilia and keepsakes from the past. Interesting shop if you the cash. Although I wonder if one probably cleaned out the old bodega in the house one might find older things than those in the shop.

Vintage Pop

Next to the pop-antique shop is the bookshop named Dateline. The shop seems to have a lot of hard to find art, socio-political and speculative fiction books. Plus some hard to find Filipiniana. A lot of Che Guevarra books and some comics. Today, I passed by it again to check their collection. Unfortunately it was closed, my fault actually I passed the area around noon and you know what they "Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen come out in the midday sun" and I am not an Englishman. Still will visit again this week just to check it out.

Datelines

Come to think of it there are a lot bookstores in Cubao today. Let me enumerate:

National Bookstore: The Super Branch, Farmers Plaza Branch and the Ali Mall Branch
Fully Booked at Gateway
A Different Bookstore at Shopwise
Book Sale at Shopwise, Ali Mall and the old Rustan
The Book section at Shopwise
Lex or something bookstore
St Paul at Gateway
Tanging Yaman Bookstore
Humor Post
Goodwill Bookstore at Gateway
Datelines

Fifteen in total, not including the magazine stores.

A book that leads to other books

2005-06-15T14:48:00.000+08:00

I bought this book a few weeks ago after watching a a critically acclaimed but in reality a wretched movie. At first I thought it was a bit steep for its price but after browsing a couple of pages and its table of contents I became convinced it was a good buy.

Its hard to put down this pocket book. The knowledge contained in this book will keep you entertained for hours. And after that you might be able to pass yourself as a literary buff. Aside from the basics as to what makes a piece of fiction cult fiction the books discusses several aspects of cult fictiondom. There is a a chapter on the authors of cult fiction - interesting information about them what were their favourite books, what writers influenced them, who they influenced, their quirks and a lot of other trivial information. Then there is a chapter on graphic novels, because as they wrote "cult works are more than just words". And then the book had a chapter on books that achieved cult status even it their authors did not. A chapter was also written for non-fiction books that attained cult status. I could go on and on.

My only frustration with the book is its size or lack of it. Books like this should be a bit bigger and with more chapters. Also maybe it would have been better had it been hardbound. Then thats just me talking.

Title: The Rough Guide to Cult Fiction
Authors: Michaela Bushell, Helen Rodiss Paul Simpson

To buy or not to buy

2005-06-09T15:25:00.000+08:00

I really should stop buying books. It is a financial drain. So what are the solutions aside from borrowing and downloading e-books. Be finicky. Now I know that finecky is a negative term that means giving to much attention to detail. Maybe the better term would be to adopt a demanding or thorough or meticulous framework in purchasing a book. In other set-up a criteria ,standards or measures, where you can decide if the book is to be purchased or not.

If I were to list down my personal criteria in book selection it would be something like this:

Content, I should like the book's content. It should reflect my genuine interest. So my taste would go for certain fiction (fantasy, science fiction, mystery, horror , comics and marchen) and non- fiction (history, aquarium keeping, essays, dictionaries, library-information science tomes, cookbooks and trivia).

Authority, The author's reputation. Is he a good writer? A credible source? Is his reputation good? Judging this requires some reading of the author's work, reading reviews and articles about the authors and insights from friends, family and people you trust. Also you can check the book jacket you will always find something written about the writer, as well as the story for that matter, complete with a photo of said writer posed in his element, there is a wide array of poses a writer can adopt from the standard holding the pipe or smiling or even frowning. Like it or not starting out with the classics is not a bad start - some of my favourite books were required reading during my pre-diet soda years.

Timeliness, this is important for technical and scientific books. Always look at the copyright. It might be a bargain but the information might be outdated. Unless of course you are looking for old books and old information - let's say how to prepare a Mann Hann meal.

Physical quality of the book. Paperbacks although cheap are not designed to last long. The newsprint used will oxidise and turn yellow. And will eventually crumble. Books printed in acid-free paper and that are hard bound lasts longer. Pricey but they do last longer. The most perfect examples of these books are the Bible, present day comic books (Graphic Novels) and most aquarium books. Comic books and the Bible you can understand. Devotees and collectors prize these books. However, aquarium books seemed to have been done that way because of necessity. I have had aquarium books whose pages seem to be laminated in mylar and are virtually water proof. Well considering that most aquarists read the book near or about water this must have been a consideration.

Price, Is the book priced correctly? Is it on sale? Just check the book cover and you will always find the suggested price. This also gives you an idea of the cost and mark-up of the book seller.

Availability of the book. If the book has four or five copies in the store you can probably afford to wait and evaluate the purchase. If it is rare will you be willing to buy it? Rare here is fluid term because unless the book is a protobook or an inculabula its not really rare is it. Books today are published in volumes. So you can probably afford to wait for a better deal. Waiting and haveing the patience of Job in book buying is tricky and more or less depends on your disposition. I have friends who almost fainted when they got to the bookshop to buy their much coveted book only to find someone browsing the book, possibly mulling whether to buy it or not. You can always borrow just make sure you return the book so you can borrow again.

I used this criteria from time to time in order to control my desire to read other books. Sometimes it works sometimes it does not.

Most of the time the over-riding factor seems to be content and price. It also helps that I perused the introduction of the book and the short bio of the author or authors all located inside and outside the book. Worthwhile to check the introduction and glance at the table of contents of the book before deciding to purchase.

Its your money and ultimately your book.

Go Back to Harvard Street Cubao

May favourite CS Lewis book: The Screwtape Letters

2005-06-03T15:23:00.000+08:00

Have you ever thought about the first book you read?
As a child I remember those Katzenjammer comics bought from a second hand store in Bangkal or the Lady Bird books about the three billy goat gruff or even the book my grandfather gave me.

A few days ago I discovered the first CS Lewis book I read. The first time I read this book was when I borrowed it from the British Council. At that time the British Council's library was located in New Manila. And it was just a jeepney ride from our house.

Going to a library in order to read and borrow books is a better alternative than buying, especially if you do not have the financial resources to buy books one likes to own. Another plus factor was that the library had a powerful and fully functional air-conditioner. A plus item in any building in the tropics in our time.

In this library I discovered the works of CS Lewis, Frank Herbert, Agatha Christie and a host of other writers. Most of the books they had were hardbound, the big books. These were the books that would be selling for over a thousand pesos today. No all were available for borrowing. Some were reserve books, meaning the library user can browse the book but cannot take it out. I used to came back again and again to browse the Tolkien bestiary or Father Christmas Letters.

And here in that library I read my first book from CS Lewis, however, it was not the Narnia books or the Silent Planet Science Fiction trilogy. My first book was a compilation of letters written by a Devil to his nephew-devil about how to turn a man to sin. The title of the compilation is "The Screwtape Letters". It is Lewis at his cynical and satyrical best.

A few years after a friend of mine gave me a copy of the book for my birthday. And this was the book I rediscovered. It occupies a special niche in my collection of books, sitting alonside my favourite books from Tolkien, Joaquin, Lovecraft and others.

As I type in the last words to this post I glance at the book and thumbing and opening its pages I discover the price of the book. It was bought for 59 pesos. Despite its condition and my predilection today for hardbound books I still like my worn out book of letters written by Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood.

And I close with this quotation on page five:

"The devil. . . the prowde spirite. . . cannot endured to be mocked." - Thomas Moore

Go Back to Harvard Street Cubao

An hour or two inside a book store

2005-05-31T14:29:00.000+08:00

Last weekend I found myself going to National Book Store Superbranch, the one beside Gateway Mall, in Cubao. I was curious about the second hand books on sale at the top most floor of the bookstore. I mentioned this a few entries back and noted that there was huge deluge of books and other stuff from WHSmith that had found its way to NBS Superbranch, at half the price. There might be some "new" books and other things on sale. Also I was interested in seeing how the old superbranch has been faring since the new bookstores, Fully Booked and A Different Book Store, opened.

Being the end of May it was no surprise that the 1st floor of NBS was taken over by school supplies and families preparing for the incoming school season were busy buying notebooks and plastic covers.There were more people on the 1st floor than the rest of the floors combined. Well NBS earns its money from school and office supplies than books it would seem. Anyway on my way up noticed the usual denizens of the book section browsers and the habitual installment readers. Also present was NBS praetorian guard reminding the patrons, who were reading and sitting down, that they were not allowed to read the books. I guess the great come down to NBS and read experiment was deemed a failure, the reigning powers discontinued the policy. But how will you buy a book if you cannot even browse the pages? Granted there may be individuals who will habitually mooch-read but that is why you have display copies. A far cry from A Different Book Store where they virtually rip the plastic cover off the books and invite you to peruse the book.

At last I found myself on the previously owned book section of the superbranch and the whole floor was filled up with books formerly from WH Smith and other book stores. The CDs were gone what was left was rows and rows of books, one could fill up three bookstores with the books on that floor. A lot of Terry Prachet Books, A couple of Star Wars book, A Series of Unfortunate Events, cook books and several hardbound books priced at half their original price. The Star Wars and other sci-fi stuff paperbacks were at least cheaper by atleast 100 pesos.

After walking and looking over the books for an hour I decided to buy three books.

The Assassin's Cloak: An Anthology of the World Greatest Diarists. Edited by Irene and Alan Taylor.Canongate Book.Edinburgh, Scotland. UK. 2000.

The first time I saw the book was in a bookstore near Liverpool Station in the UK. Needless to say I failed to buy it and instead I purchased a dictionary of euphemisms and a trump card set of the Simpsons. I thought I would never be able to buy this thick but light book. The book is divided into 12 chapters for each month of the year and entries are arranged according to the day they were written. It is like reading one big diary or a blog. Famous and infamous diarists are featured in this anthology.

Radio Times Guide to Science Fiction Films, TV, & Radio. Edited by Kilmney-Fane Saunders. 2001. UK

The book lists down nearly all Science Fiction films, radio shows and television programs before 2000. The list is comprehensive and includes: ratings, format availability, microreviews, photos, trivia, cast, director, short write-ups on select SF luminaries, and a SF quiz that spans the ages. A good reference for people who appreciate SF films, tv shows, and radio programs.

Learn Chinese: Ten Minutes A Day - A complete learning kit

This selection shows my frustration with learning a new language. I have always been fascinated by other languages and have always been a frustrated learner. How was Rizal able to cope with it? According to the history books he learned more than nine languages. I guess one day with perseverance.

All books were priced at 300 to 350 pesos each. A good buy considering all would have cost four times as much in regular book stores.

Go Back to Harvard Street Cubao

An open bag

2005-05-24T15:24:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday, I had an empty bag in front of me. This empty bag stared at me with its zipper open and a gapping mouth seemed to beckon me to put something in it. Nature does not like a vacuum and my mind race for things to put inside.

Then lightning struck. I mean of course cerebral lightning. And from experience cerebral lightning for me is as common as true lightning in a sunny day. An idea began to form in my head and take life. The idea said why notfill the bag with books that you would take with you.

"Imagine going on a long trip and these bag would carry all the books you would need" the idea said to me.

So I did it. After an hour or two I had filled up the bag with books or reading materials I would take with me on my imagined journey.

What were the books?

Animal Farm by George Orwell
The New Testament
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
Farmer Giles of Ham by JRR Tolkien
Screwtape's Letters by CS Lewis
An Anthology of the best Filipino Short Stories
Treasure Island by Daniel Defoe
Father Brown Mysteries by GK Chesterton
A Question of Heroes by Nick Joaquin
Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe
Tales of Mystery and Terror by Edgar Allan Poe
OED Dictionary
A Blank Book
Two books on Kokology
Lessons of History by Ariel and Will Durant
Sandman: Fables & Reflections by Neil Gaiman
Death at Death's Door by Jill Thompson
The Once and Future King by TH White
and a cook book

Like friends, one's choice in books is an indirect description of oneself.

Go Back to Harvard Street Cubao

Book: Mga Kinamihasnang Salitang Tagalog

2005-05-20T14:55:00.000+08:00

Ignacio, Rosendo. MGA KINAMIHASNANG SALITANG TAGALOG (Tagalog Idioms - Modismos Tagalos. 2nd Pagkalimbag. Philippines. 1963.

I bought this book a year ago at the this shop in Mega Mall that sells old books. Not quite sure but the name of place seems to be Old Manila. But you will not miss the shop it is located on the topmost floor beside an antique shop that sells swords and other antiques, I cannot remember its name too, but said bookshop is near the escalator.

The book is a slim hardbound volume, around four by five inches. It was written by a Tagalog and Spanish language teacher Iganacio Rosendo during the 1960s. Mr has a couple of consonants at the end of his name so he must be learned man. According to the booklet, small eh, Rosendo is a Spanish and Tagalog teaher in the vernacular "Guro sa mga wikang Kastila at Tagalog".

Do you not wonder why we call the Spanish language here Kastila not Espanol or the Spaniards as Kastila and not Espanol? Maybe its because most of Spaniards who went here were Castillians?, ie from Castille, Spain.I wonder why? Come to think of most of us refer to white foreigners as Kano even if they are Eastern Europeans or Englishmen.

Rosendo, I like that name it sounds so Philippines 1950s and I mean no offense it is a nice solid Filipino/Spanish name, lists down and translates into Tagalog, Spanish and English the different Tagalog idioms used in the 1960s. It is an interesting list and plus side is you get its equivalent word or description in English and Spanish.

Here are some of the entries that can be found in the booklet. Please note that the words are arranged according to the following scheme, Tagalog idioms - Tagalog description - English - Spanish:

Bals wals - Walang saysay - worthless - no vale nada

Basang puwit - Babaing paiba-iba ang kinakasama - a woman who changes lover continually - mujer que cambia de querido

Mukhang balubad - pangit - ugly - feo

Go Back to Harvard Street Cubao

Book reviews on the web and other links

2005-05-18T14:28:00.000+08:00

Here are some sites I visit often and you might find useful. When it comes to the written word there are two types of websites I visit. The first type contains or features book reviews and the second type contains electronic or digital format classic literature in the public domain, ie free literature, you just have to download them.

Now why take time to visit a book review site. Book review sites and book reviews are important to bibliophiles because it gives us an assessment of the book without giving away the story. This saves the reader time and money in selecting a potential book to read.

However, it must be noted that not all reviews are good reviews, some may be disguised as advertising tools. Things to look out for in a book review are the following:

Who is the author? What is his speciality and reputation? Is he writing for a credible organisation.

And on the review itself. Is it a non-biased review? Does the critic or reviewer cite or quite passages to prove his point? Or is he just writing down his opinion without presenting evidence to back his claims against and or for the book. Reviewing is just not writing your opinion it is proving your opinion is valid or worthy of consideration.

Equally interesting for us is that the Internet makes available, for free, literature that has entered the public domain, nearly copyright free except for commercial purposes. This means work that have entered the public domain can be copied and distributed non-commercially. And this saves us money because no we just have to download or copy the work.

Here are the sites I visit often:

Book Reviews:

FT.com: Financial Times website

FT.com aside from being the on-line version the FT, Financial Times - the premiere UK-based financial and business newspaper, also carries news feed from several daily newspapers from aroud the world. Each weekend the paper comes out with the weekend section and in that section one can find several insightful book reviews. Unfortunately, you have to sign up and pay in order to access this feature.

The good news is if you are or your company is a subscriber to the Financial Times newspaper you can access this site, subscription to the newspaper comes bundled with the subscription to the site.

The New York Times Book Page

All you have to do here is to sign up for the service and you are ready to go. Contains a large database of reviews. Reviews are grouped by genre, author's name and several categories. And aided by a powereful search you can easily get to the book review you want. I took me less than two minutes to get the review of Yann Martel's "Life with Pi".

SF Site

For readers of Science Fiction this is the site where you can find book reviews od SF books, articles and interviews of your favourite writers.

Free literature
Project Guttenberg

Project Gutenberg produces and makes available for downloads free electronic books (eBooks or etexts) on the Internet. According to their website the collection is made up of more than 15,000 ebooks, all produced by volunteers. The literary works in this collection are already in the public domain in the United States and as such can be freely downloaded and read, and redistributed for non-commercial use.

This site is useful if you are looking for those hard-to-find books. I was able to download Frank Stockton's fairy tales from this site.

There are several other sites that provide credible reviews and free downloads. And I will feature them next time.

Go Back to Harvard Street Cubao

News: Neil Gaiman coming this way!

2005-05-12T14:17:00.000+08:00

Neil Gaiman, critically acclaimed writer of the Sandman comic book series and author of the novel American Gods and other titles, will be visiting the Philippines this July. Gaiman will be here from July 9 to 11. For more information check Neil Gaiman's journal at neilgaiman.com, the information can be found in the May 4 entry.

A BOOK ABOUT BOOKS, WRITERS, BOOK PUBLISHERS AND READERS

2005-05-11T10:59:00.000+08:00

Hamilton, John Maxwell. Casanova Was a Book Lover and Other Naked Truths and Provocative Curiosities about the Writing, Selling, and Reading of Books. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Univ. Pr., 2000. 351p. $24.95, alk. paper (ISBN 0-8071-2554-7). LC 99-059582

Last Christmas, I went to National Book Store Super branch in Cubao and they had on sale ,I think they still have, several books and CDs from the UK. These were brand new books selling for around half its price. A cursory glance at a few of the books would seem to indicate that they were from the stock of financially troubled airport and train station-based book store WH Smith. Maybe NBS got these from Hong Kong.

Now the value of these books and CDs of course will vary from person to person. There were several children books and CDs. Differently covered Lemony Snickett and Harry Potter books. The cover of a book would differ from time to time depending where it was released. A publisher sometimes would also come up with two versions of the same book, case in point Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – they came up with a children’s version, which was cheery red or orange, and the adult version, which had a more somber color. When this was released here someone actually claimed on Bidshot that this was the adult version implying that it contained passages for mature viewing. Caveat emptor! Buyer beware!

Another interesting find in this sale was the amount of audio books and radio plays on sale. For me the radio-plays were a real bargain, but I digress.

One of the books I was able to buy was a book written by journalist and radio commentator John Maxwell Hamilton entitled, “Cassanova was a Book Lover and Other Naked Truths and Provocative Curiosities about the Writing, Selling and Reading of Books”.

Hamilton enchants us with an irreverent look at all the facets of the book from A to Z. His irreverent and factual narrative spares no one – the writer, the publisher, the patron, the critic, the reader and even the library.

"Dear friend I believe, contrary to the fashion among our contemporaries, that one can have a very lofty idea of literature and at the same time have a good-natured laugh at it." - Marcel Proust

The writer used this quote in the book and it would seem that he truly believes in the message. Hamilton rephrases this quote in the title of his introduction that he describes as “An Introduction to the Proper Study of Mankind” and continues with “In which it is shown that the best way to study books, reading, and people is no to take them seriously”.

In my case, Hamilton is preaching to the converted.

The chapter titles of the book foreshadow the wit and style he employed in discussing history and issues affecting the book industry. Below is a list of said chapters:

T ROGER CLAYPOOL'S FISH STORE
THE ART OF MARKETING
ARTLESS THANK-YOUS
A GUIDE TO GOOD BOOK BEHAVIOUR
INGLORIOUS EMPLOYMENT
LITERARY LUCK
BEST STOLEN BOOKS
DEAR MR POLITICIAN PLEASE DONT WRITE
THE UNIVERSAL LIBRARY

In T Roger Claypool’s Fish Store, Hamilton debunks the stereotypical image of the writer as a laid back and earning his living just by writing. He cites that writing has been a second career for most successful authors. William Shakespeare earned not from his work but from his earnings as an actor, shares in the theatre and real estate. Chaucer worked as an ambassador and not a writer. Milton depended on his father, tutoring of children and working as a propagandist for Oliver Cromwell to make ends meet.

All in all, Hamilton’s work read as an articulate and engaging story telling rather than a sleep-inducing lecture. Bibliophiles, writers, publishers, and readers will find this book informative and interesting.

Go back to Harvard Street Cubao

READING HABITS

2005-05-03T12:00:00.000+08:00

In Japan there is tale about a monk and a gifted swordsman. The monk seeking to educate the swordsman tricked and imprisoned him in a library for several years. During his imprisonment the swordsman, due to boredom, was forced to read all the books. And when the time came for the swordsman’s release he hugged and thanked the monk saying that he had learn a lot during his incarceration. The swordsman’s name was Miyomoto Mushashi the legendary swordsman of Japan.

So how do you read?

Do you require total silence in the surroundings before you begin reading a book? On the other hand, do you need music in order to put you in the mood? Do you read differently a comic book from a novel of Tolstoy? Alternatively, does reading style differ when you read about the red masque of death and the Green Terror, a South American fish also called Aquidens rivulatus.

One of my first jobs in the information industry was that of an abstractor, one who makes abstracts. Now normally when we say abstract we mean the adjective means complicated, for example the painting of the descent is an example of abstract art. The abstract that I used to make as an abstractor refers to the noun, which means a summary of an article or study indicating the content and/or voice of the original. The reader uses an abstract to evaluate the content of an article.

Abstracts are an integral part of any research paper. This is because by reading an abstract the reader can already know nearly all the important information of the study.

Abstracts are also of great use to the largest depositories of articles. There are companies out there that collect and collate articles. These enormous numbers of articles are deposited in a huge database for storage and retrieval. Now these articles are indexed or tagged with descriptors. A search in the database uses these descriptors to collect these articles. The reader is left with an option to select the article he needs. An abstract shortens the selection time a reader has do when processing the article since he need not read the whole text only the abstract. In some cases the information in the abstract is all that is needed, the reader needs not go ay further.

As an abstractor, there two primary skills needed. First, the abstractor must have the ability to write grammatically correct, clear, and concise abstracts. Second, as important, or even more important than the first is the ability to comprehend the article. How can you write the abstract if you do not understand the article? If you do not understand the article, your article will be rubbish.

The way I read an article, as an abstractor is radically different from the way I read a book for pleasure or without time constraints. Reading in preparation for writing an abstract is a task of necessity; if you do not produce an abstract you will not get paid. When reading articles for abstracts the writer has to keep himself in focus, scan the article and identify the main points – in other words deconstruct the article quickly. Fortunately, abstractors relied on the five wise men used by Rudyard Kipling – who, what, when, where and why. Identifying the five Ws of the article, the abstractor could write down a good abstract. Unfortunately, not all articles were malleable to the five Ws; there were times when a complicated expository piece (an essay) or a highly specialized study needed to be abstracted. In such cases, there was no choice but to read the piece and identify the main points. I remember a time when I had to write an abstract for a study on the validity of a geometric formula, mathematical research maybe slim page wise but in terms of complicated content they do pack a wallop. Over time, all abstractors develop techniques to speed up the process of writing. Most abstractors had an arsenal of templates for news reports, essays, product releases, book reviews for all sort of articles.

Reading for abstracting is reading out of necessity, systematic and fast no time to enjoy and digest what one reads. Effective reading but without pleasure of discovery or the joy of self-epiphany.

The second way I read a book is to digest it, taking my time to enjoy the passages. And this type of reading I do not limit to fictional works but to a whole gamut of reading materials that has piqued my interest. The book I might be reading may be about fish keeping, the history of book publishing, “The Hobbit” by JRR Tolkien or Edgar Allan Poe’s short story with the unassuming title of “A Cask of Amontillado” as long as it keeps me interested I read it at leisurely pace. There are of course books, like cook books and atlases, that are not for leisurely read, however, from time to time you will discover some unassuming books or works that can be a treasure trove for one’s interest.

There is a pleasure one can only find in digesting the words of written work. While gobbling is effective in certain instances true enjoyment of a reading a written work is to mentally savor each bit.

So what are your reading habits?

TWO BOOKS FROM THE PAST

2005-04-08T15:58:00.000+08:00

RECOLLECTIONS OF A VOYAGE TO THE PHILIPPINES. DE MAN, J. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY E AQUILAR CRUZ. NATIONAL HISTORICAL INSTITUTE, 1997. PHILIPPINES. INCLUDES ILLUSTRATIONS.

JOURNEY TO MAJAYJAY. DELA GIRONIERE, PAUL P. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY E AQUILAR CRUZ. NATIONAL HISTORICAL INSTITUTE, 2ND PRINTING 1994. PHILIPPINES. INCLUDES ILLUSTRATIONSBoth are travel accounts of non-Spanish foreigners who stayed in the country during the last century of Spanish Colonial rule.

Originally published in French the books gives us a view of Philippine colonial life before the Americans came. Republished by the National Historical Institute the book was a steal for P75.00 each. Later, I was informed by a friend and officemate that nobody bought these books because they were boring. What a shame!

Both books were translated by Ambassador EA Cruz.

I must admitt that my favourite, among the two, is Dela Gironiere's book, "JOURNEY TO MAJAYJAY". In it he recounts his travel from during Christmas from his farm to the town of Majayjay. Monsieur Dela Gironiere's journey came to fruitation due to his desire to see Laguna, visit friends, and to avoid expected Christmas practices in his farm. Dela Gironiere and his companion took the less travelled routes, paths usually taken by the bandits. On the road the Frenchman and his indio has an interesting talk that may shed some light in the social dynamics of Spanish Colonial society.

De Man's journey on the other hand is like looking into a backpacker's log. I think in Europe at the time it was practice, probably for rich families, to send their sons abroad to experience life. Thus De Mans journey wis full anecdotes of different parties and outings he went to. Not boring but not as touching as Dela Gironiere's book, at least for me.

These books are an interesting addition to anyone who reads and collects Filipiniana. Both provides us a look into our colonial past and gives us a glimpse, especially Dela Gironiere's Majayjay, of how the Filipinos lived during the Spanish time.

To boldly go where no man has gone before

2005-04-08T15:20:00.000+08:00

The World of Star Trek: The Show the Network could not kill. Gerrold, David. Ballantine Books. Copright 1973. New York. Includes pictures and a complete episode guide.
I came across this book while I was browsing the used-book sections in the supermarket. There were a few Star Trek Books, even a compilation of short stories based on the Star Trek animation series, scattered about. Personally, I am not really a fan of stories based on television series or movies. I prefer to watch Star Wars than to read it as a novel. Nothing against the form I just do not like it. There are exceptions, however, this was not one them. Gerrold's book was an account of the Star Trek phenomenon, a historical narrative. A nice revealing tale.

The phenomenon of Star Trek from the eyes of David Gerrold. But who is David Gerrold?

In 1967, David Gerrold wrote and was able to sell a original story and script for the Star Trek that became the episode titled, "The Trouble with Tribles". During that same year, the story was nominated for the International Hugo Award best dramatic presentation on science fiction. It came in second in the balloting. The Tribles episode was his first professional sale. Gerrold continued to work with Star Trek, he re-wrote some of the episodes and wrote another orginal story that became the episode entitled "The Cloud Minders".

Gerrold's book is quite thorough. He writes in detail and with care the story of series through its cast, crew, and fans. The narration is interesting because it is peppered with anecdotes and direct-quote recollections of all the major personalities in Star Trek, cast and production crew. And of course there are the stories of the Trekkies. Clearly being a writer and part-time story/script doctor for the series has its advantages. And in this I think Mr Gerrold excels. He provides the reader a look behind the creative process of the series: How did Gene Rodenberry described his series? What rules did the writers follow when writing an episode? Why were there no seatbelts in the Enterprise? What were the future projects or plans of Rodenberry, which included another Science Fiction series with some named Dylan Hunt.

Mr Gerrold's analysis of the series is enlightening or at least interesting, especially if you do not agree with him. He lists down the reason why the series did not live up to its potential? Why was it cancelled? How to improve on Star Trek?

Although the book is old - it was published a few years after the series was cancelled, and again republished just before the showing Star Trek the movie - it still for the fan or someone who enjoyed the old series. The book is also of value for aspiring writers or storytellers because among other things the author discusses extensively the mental cooking process involved in crafting a science fiction series.

Favourite Books

2005-04-04T20:00:00.000+08:00

Books that I have read more than once. Writings that I have been going back to. Printed material I cannot do without. Books I will probably never lend to anyone.

Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
A Question of Heroes by Nick Joaquin
The Bible by different Prophets and Apostles.
Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
Farmer Giles of Ham by JRR Tolkien
Edgar Allan Poe's short stories
GK Chesterton's Father Brown Mysteries
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories
The OED Oxford English Dictionary and other dictionaries of interest
Aquarium Atlases
Cookbooks
Dune and God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Shogun by James Clavell
Fairy Tale Books
Books by Theodore Geisel
The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis
The SpaceTrilogy - Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength - by CS Lewis
The Killing Joke by Allan Moore
The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Lessons from History by Will and Ariel Durant
Bloom County by Berkely Breathed
All my Filipiniana books and other print materials