The Girl Who Drank the Moon: Beautiful and Magical

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Beautiful book on finding one's power and what it means to be a family

I read this book as a facilitator for an online kids' book club during Covid-19 quarantine. What a beautiful book! So well-written, so evocative, so magical. The characters are well fleshed-out and weird and varied and wonderful. The themes are so relevant to our times: the importance (and dangers) of storytelling (or controlling the narrative) and censorship, family and love, and hope winning over sorrow. I love the swamp monster, Glerk, who is at once Beast, Bog, World, and Poet. I love how poetry also forms part of this book and reveals so much about the foundational nature of the written and spoken word. The main narrative is interspersed with mini (and meta) narratives...stories woven into the story. I love the unusual family that is made up of a witch, a magical girl, a swamp monster, and a dragonling. I couldn't put it down! This made the quarantine bearable and gave me something to look forward to. It was also a wonderful bonding tool for me and my nine-year-old daughter. Can't endorse it enough.

View all my reviews

Join The Pinoy Book Drop 2014

This month is National Reading Month! That's why the Filipino Reader Con is held in November and that's why there's an Aklatan (Indie Publisher Fair) and a Philippine International Literary Festival (all being held at Bayanihan Center, Pioneer St., Mandaluyong City this week).

So, what is this Pinoy Book Drop all about? The concept is simple. It's all part of sharing a reading experience with others. BTW, there's a hashtag for that, too, from DepEd (Department of Education) called #ShareABookPH.

My first book drop happened today at Starbucks, Robinsons Pioneer. The two books were: 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People by David Niven, Ph.D. I got this book from a friend and I'm passing it on to others...hopefully so more people will be happy. The second book was an overeager purchase during a Scholastic sale. I bought The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes by Anne Mazer (sounds like Gone Girl's Amazing Amy, right?) together with other loot, thinking that I'd save it up for my daughter. The thing is she's three and this book might gather a lot of dust before she lays her hands on it. So, I'm giving it away for other young readers.

I hope my books find good homes.

So, c'mon and join the the fun!

These are the mechanics from the Filipino Reader Con website:

1. Pick a book (or two, or three, or yes, four!) that you wish to give away, or that’s okay for you to part with, for one reason or another. Make sure to check the pages for important stuff – anything you may have inserted there and forgotten but you may want to hold on to.

2. Download and print the customized bookplate that you’ll find below these instructions. It doesn’t have to be in color – black and white will work just as fine! Paste or stick one bookplate on a clear page or area of the book/s that you wish to give away. Yes, you can sign your name there, too, if you want.

3. Leave or “drop” the book/s in a public place, or basically any place where people are sure to see them: in a café, in the office, at a restaurant, the gym, it’s up to you. (Well, maybe not inside a bookstore, yeah.) You know where someone is likely to see the book/s and pick it up, yes?

4. Before leaving the book/s where you “dropped” them, take a photo. If you’re leaving two or more books, be sure to take note of the date, time, and place where you left each one.

So how is everyone going to know that you have dropped a book somewhere? You can do any of the following:

(a) If you have a Twitter account, just tweet the title of the book, where and when you dropped it, and attach the appropriate photo. If you dropped two or more books, tweet about each title separately.

(b) You can also post about it on Facebook – on your own profile/timeline, if it’s set to public, OR on the Filipino ReaderCon page itself. Same details apply: title of the book, place and date of the drop, and photo. If you’re dropping two or more books, you have the option to include all the books in one go or post about the books individually. It’s up to you.

IMPORTANT: Please use the hashtags #pbdrop and #filreadercon and don’t forget to tag us at @PinoyReaderCon for every tweet!

5. The actual dropping of books will take place until the Filipino ReaderCon on November 14, 2014.

6. On the other hand, if you’re one of those who are lucky enough to find a dropped book, we encourage you to tell us all about it, as well! Tweet and Facebook any dropped book that you find – same instructions on using the hashtags #pbdrop and #filreadercon and tagging us at @PinoyReaderCon apply. ;)

Click on this link to get the special bookplate from FilReaderCon that you can use with your book drop.

Filipino Friday #4: Diverse Books

Hello! It's Filipino Friday once again. How time flies! Next week is already FilReaderCon!

This week's prompt: Do you think we have enough diversity in the books that we read? Are our choices enough to satisfy our different tastes? Are our writers able to present the variety of people, culture, lifestyle, interests and so on? How diverse are your reading interests, and are you able to find enough books to satisfy your reading needs? Do you think we need more diverse books?

My answer: My short answer is no. At least for Pinoy books.

But there's a whole background to it. First of all, in terms of an international viewpoint, the answer is yes. There are a lot of books out there. The catalog on Amazon is both gargantuan and labyrinthian. If you can find anything from literary fiction to gluten-free vegetarian cookbooks to dinosaur erotica...that must cover pretty much *everything.*

But I'm talking about Pinoy choices. Are there enough choices to, for example, satisfy my taste? I want more stuff like F. H. Batacan's Smaller and Smaller Circles. I want science fiction by Pinoys. Where are they? I want more literary horror stories like Yvette Tan's short story, "Seek Ye Whore: Lust In Translation" and more comics like Trese by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo. I want more young adult books like Candy Gourlay's Tall Story and Shine.  My son reads The Magic Treehouse books...but there's no equivalent for the Filipino experience. I don't think we have enough chapter books for very young readers.

So, why is this important when we Pinoys can actually go over to Amazon or Kobo and take our pick of international books? Precisely because of the third question in the prompt: do we have enough stories that depict our people, our culture, our lifestyle, our interests? That's where my answer is no.

My own preferences are very diverse. I read fiction (mostly literary, sometimes of the thriller genre like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl), non-fiction (mostly business books, research on education and self-improvement, recently a book called The Vegetarian Myth, which I thought was very well written). I read young adult fiction like Hunger Games and Candy Gourlay's books. I am a fan of Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Ursula Le Guin, and Margaret Atwood. I also had an Anita Shreve period. I avidly follow must-read lists from Goodreads or on websites like Oprah's Book Club. I am always looking for something to read. I am the kind of person who naturally gravitates towards the written word, even food labels and product labels interest me. So, yes, you could say that I have a very diverse appetite for books. Currently, I think my need to read is currently satisfied, especially with such a wide array available in the international market. But my need for more diverse Pinoy books is still unsatisfied.

Diversity is a good thing. For life to thrive, there needs to be a healthy balance of environment and biodiversity. Even for the mind, I think the same is true. We need a healthy diversity of thought and experience to really thrive and flourish as human beings.

Filipino Friday #3: FanFic Felicity

And here I am posting for Filipino Friday on a Saturday. Sigh. As I said in my first Filipino Friday Post: Better late than never.

So, here's this week's prompt: Fanfiction is pretty popular, no doubt about it, but it has been received with mixed feelings by many authors and writers. Some don’t mind it, and even welcome readers who give their own spin on their work. Some writers don’t like it at all, to the point that they contact fanfiction authors to take their work down. Others use it as a jump-off point for their own writing.

How about you? What is your take on fanfiction? Do you read fanfiction, and if you do, what kind of fanfiction do you read? Do you write fanfiction, and why? Or are you against fanfiction? Enlighten us.

My answer: Reading and writing are not meant to be isolated acts. In the end, it is a story being told and a story being heard. It is part of human experience. Let that be my underlying principle.

So, on to fanfiction. I don't think there's anything wrong with fanfiction. It's a way to engage with a written piece of work. I think writers should embrace fanfic because it's part of a conversation. Once a writer publishes work, it belongs out there. It no longer belongs to the writer. That's just how it is. No use being in denial.

I think fanfic is a great exercise in writing. My very first fantasy novel (the one that I lost a long time ago) could be considered fanfic after reading Ursula LeGuin's A Wizard of Earthsea. I copied the style of archaic writing and world-making as well as the idea of mapping that world (which, if you think about it, started further back with The Lord of The Rings which I hadn't read at the time). I also got encouraged to write love stories when I first read Sweet Dreams books. So, there, gave away my age. Haha! One of my favorites was P.S. I Love You. I was such a fan. I later read her other books, The Summer Jenny Fell In Love and Winter Dreams. Fanfic is a good starting point, especially for a writer who's just starting out.

But do I read fanfic? Not really. But this is not to say that I would discourage anyone from reading it. That's totally different. It's just not my preference. I would rather read the original stories.

So, in conclusion, I think fanfic is great. It's a great creative activity for fans. Some worlds are just so engrossing they have to be built upon. It's a great activity for writers, especially when they are inspired by a piece of work and are just starting out in a genre. As a reader, I have a preference for original stories. But that's just me.

Filipino Friday #2: Hello, Writer!

Yes! It's Friday and I'm finally writing a Filipino Friday post on the right day. Haha!

So, here's this week's prompt: As a reader, have you ever thought about writing a book? What kind of books/stories do you want to write? Or are you now a published author, and what compelled you to go fulfil this dream? How was your journey from reader to writer? How did you go about getting your book out there?

Here's my answer: Shameless promotion time. Haha!

Yes! Writing has always been a part of my life, just as much as reading. I started really early (grade school). I'm the type who keeps a journal. I started my first journal in Grade 2, as part of my school work. After that, I kept at it. I remember filling notebooks and notebooks with stories, poems, character banks, and even advertisements (yes, advertisements. I may have had an alternative career in copywriting)! Read about my favorite stories and my first attempt at writing a fantasy novel here (last year's Filipino Friday prompt).

Words make up my days. I say this elsewhere but I'll say it here again: your life is made up of what you remember. That's why I attempt to write whenever I can: it's life captured (and shared, when published).

I started writing poetry quite early too. I feel, up to now, that poetry is a concentrated kind of literature where I best express myself. But it's also one of the least profitable types of literature as well. Frankly, I don't care. I still write it.

My poetry has been published before. I'm really happy that I have a couple of poems published in two editions of U.P.'s Likhaan series. I also have one poem in A Habit of Shores, edited by one of my idols, Gemino "Jimmy" Abad. The poem title is rather long: "A Filipino Writer of English Poems to a Filipino Writer of Spanish Poems." It was written for a Rizal Centennial poetry contest in Ateneo de Manila (which I won...a long time ago). I have another one in One Hundred Love Poems, edited by Sir Jimmy and another of my literary idols, Alfred "Krip" Yuson. This latter poem is probably what you'd call my most mainstream and memorable poem. It's called "Seven Years Later, Driving Home." In other words: marami sigurong sawi sa Pilipinas. Haha!

I won't forget, though, the first time I got two poems published in a magazine. It was before I submitted my poem to the Rizal contest. I submitted it through my friend, Tats Locsin. Seeing my words printed on paper in a national publication was very thrilling. But my hope was: let it touch lives. The title of one of the poems was: "Lost Afternoon," about how even love is subject to time, a favorite theme of mine. I was going through a phase then.

I submitted another two poems to Panorama and they got published too. But that was it. Nothing published for a very long time.

A couple of years ago, I attended a seminar on producing results with velocity and I thought to myself: why don't I publish my books? I had a rejected manuscript for a chick lit story (too dragging, too serious...hahaha!) and I had a lot of poems that were unpublished, just languishing on this blog. So I published them on Lulu.com (a self-publishing platform in the U.S.) and I even got a couple of printed proofs in the mail which made me almost faint with excitement. My friend, Maisa dela Torre, illustrated my book of poetry.

My book of poetry is Gift: Poems. And my love story is Artemis Lets Go. I even did a little book launch in Fully Booked, BGC. The books were self-published so I couldn't use Fully Booked's distribution system and cashier. They needed a publisher or a company to sign the contract. I just printed a few copies and sold them to friends and family who showed up at the launch. My aunt, all the way in Virginia, also ordered several copies of my poetry book to give away as Christmas gifts. Yay!

Last year, I also collaborated with two other writers, Buding Aquino-Dee and Jenny Ong, to come up with a children's book that highlights how breastfeeding is part of family bonding. It's called Snuggle Wuggle Wee. It was such a joy to write! Sales of the book will fund more breastfeeding activities by the the non-profit organization, L.A.T.C.H. (Lactation, Attachment, Training, Counseling, and Help). A Filipino version, translated by a poet who happens to be my favorite Philosophy teacher, Bong Oris, is on the way.

I still won't make money out of writing. Not yet. But I don't mind. It's not why I write. And I'm learning! It also won't stop me from continuing to write. I found a way to DIY and I still got my books to some people. That's what counts. "Wildly popular" isn't really my end goal. As I've read in Stephen King's book On Writing: write for yourself. And here I am, still writing. I've submitted a couple of short stories to two anthologies for publication next year. I'm looking forward to the launches of those.

Also, NaNoWriMo is coming up. Maybe it's time to shake off the dust from a languishing manuscript and put it out there, in the world. There are a lot more choices available to writers nowadays, especially with the advent of digital distribution systems.

My conclusion: a reader may not always become a writer. But a writer...a writer will always start out as a reader. And a writer will always need to continue reading because of an incurable love for words and stories.

Disclosure: I work with a digital distribution system for the Pinoy market, buqo. But you'll see from my story, above, why I'm so passionate about books and getting authors to their audiences.

Celebrating The Storied Life of Reading: A Book Review of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry By Gabrielle Zevin

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: A Novel by Gabrielle Zevin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was recommended to me by a friend. I was itching to get it as soon as I read the synopsis. I was so glad that I had stumbled upon a 50% discount coupon on Kobo because it would justify the purchase given the number of books on my "currently reading" shelf.

And I was not disappointed. On the contrary, it was absolutely amazing! It's the kind of book that's meant for book lovers (that's me!). Apart from the novel, I was treated to thirteen other short stories (recommendations by the main character, A.J. Fikry to his daughter, Maya Tamerlane Fikry). I immediately looked up Lamb to the Slaughter (the short story mentioned in the first chapter) and was rewarded with a rollicking-good perfect crime short story by Roald Dahl. This book was such a treat. There are stories nested within the story and it's just lovely, just lovely. A.J. Fikry would frown over the fact that I read this as an eBook but at least Amelia Loman (read the book to appreciate who she is) has my back.

It moves me on so many levels: it moves me as a reader with varied tastes (sometimes wondering if she's a snob or not; well, no, because I actually read the Twilight series, a fact which all my snotty reader friends find very amusing), it moves me as a person who works in the book industry (well, eBook industry...it's the content that matters, right?), and it moves me as a mother and wife muddling along through life trying to make the best of it (and trying really hard to make readers of her children!).

It's heart-rending too. It manages to combine different genres into one book (making me laugh, cry and stand by with bated breath). Overall, it is a stand-out piece of literary fiction. A.J. Fikry's age is even in the same range as mine, painting the portrait of a curmudgeon of a digital migrant who leans more toward the analog. Not that it matters (just to me, I guess). If it has to boil down to one sentence, it's this: I highly recommend this book. To end, let me just tell you a little story of the three days that it took me to read this book. I bought it after work, in the evening, and started reading it while waiting for my husband to pick me up from work. I was hooked and couldn't put it down. I read Lamb to the Slaughter that same evening and fell in love with Maya too. On the second day, I couldn't believe how fast Maya had grown and how Chief Lambiase had grown on me (I already liked him from the start) while waiting for our turn at the Pedia's office in St. Luke's, Quezon City. On the third day, I was so glad that the author had not left out the story written by Maya and had actually reproduced it just as it was submitted to her teacher, Mr. Balboni. I was randomly crying in Megamall (where we celebrated Father's Day: Sunday Mass at the 5th floor, lunch at Pollo Loco and shopping for various stuff for my husband) because letting go is just not one of my strong suits. I remember when I read the last word which was at that exact moment when we were buying liempo to bring to Sunday dinner with my Dad at my brother's house. And I sighed. Thank you Gabrielle Zevin for a perfect reading weekend. And thank you, Honey, for bringing this book to my attention.

View all my reviews

Teaching Character #3: Story Reading Feedback Time, My Final Project

I'm very happy to share my final project for my Teaching Character class (Relay Graduate School of Education via Coursera.org). The assignment was to put together a macro structure, an advance planned recurring activity for students that will tackle both an academic subject or extracurricular activity as well as a character strength like grit, social intelligence, optimism, etc.

In this case, I chose a homeschool activity for my son: story reading feedback time. We take up Language Arts every Friday. Apart from IXL activities, I ask my son to also read a chapter book. He has just started the transition from picture books to chapter books and it's been a real test of grit. So, I chose to make it a point to discuss not just the comprehension of the chapter book so far but also to discuss the challenges that he has gone through while reading a long story and how he demonstrates stick-with-it-ness during the reading activity.

The feedback activity is also a good time to start applying what I've learned so far from the Micro Moments lessons (constructive feedback --> growth mindset --> character behavior language loop). I want him to see for himself what grit looks like and how to identify that he's in the middle of demonstrating grit.

Our first session will start this Friday. :-)

Note: I am taking a 4-week class called Teaching Character and Creating Positive Classrooms (offered by Relay Graduate School of Education via Coursera.org) as part of my endeavors to enrich my homeschooling experience. 

Filipino Fridays #6 Torn Over ReaderCon Excitement

Okay, it's not a Friday anymore but I couldn't resist.

Here are the questions: What are you most excited about for this year’s ReaderCon?

Are you excited about the panels? What panels are you planning to attend, and why? The book discussions? Have you picked which one to attend? Are you excited to meet some of the awesome local authors we have invited? Are you ready to receive recommendations from the Book Recommendation Fair? Or are you there for the Filipino Readers’ Choice Awards? Are you going with your friends, or alone? Are you excited to meet bloggers and other readers?

Here are the answers:

Okay, disclosure, I work with Buqo. So, pretty much, I'm going as a sponsor. Haha!

But....even if I weren't a sponsor, I would still have gone to the Filipino ReaderCon anyway.

I'm excited about the panels!

Torn, torn, torn

I'm torn between "Kids and Their Stories" and "Don't Hate Me Because I'm Popular." The former because I'm a mom and I want to learn more about children's books and how to encourage my kids to be readers. But at the same time, I'm very curious about the Wattpad phenomenon. I'm not a Wattpad reader but I signed up and I was mulling over putting up a story over there (but never found the time!). I'm an author (well, I still consider myself "aspiring author") and I want to learn more about what other readers read. I read for myself...I read esoteric stuff. I read "literary" stuff. It's not punishment for me. I just love it. But I'm really curious about what makes Wattpad tick. I'm curious about language and how people navigate through bilingual pastiche and how it moves them. What moves these readers? And what kind of stories are these authors coming up with? What inspired them? And how did it become some kind of movement?

Come to think of it, all the panels have me torn! I want to go to "The Digital Filipino Reader" and I also want to go to "What Booksellers Know" because both have great insights into the Filipino reader. I'm one. But I want to know what other readers are into. Aargh!

For "Authors as Readers" I might go with the one with Lourd de Veyra. Simply because I'm a (gushing) fan.

Same Dilemma for "Book Discussions." I want to go to the discussion on Pride and Prejudice because, well,  I'm a Pride and Prejudice girl. It's one of my all-time favorites. Ever. But. I also want to go to the Walang Diwata ng Pakgahulog because I'm interested in book clubs that read Filipino works. That's really interesting.

Wish List! And General Excitement

What I would have loved to attend would be a discussion on Diary ng Panget or something like it (i.e. Wattpad book). I really enjoyed the Fifty Shades of Gray discussion last year. I think I got read from laughing my head off. And because of the book discussion on Smaller and Smaller Circles, I got myself a copy too.

I'm excited to get book recommendations because my own little book club would benefit from more titles. However, we're a bit delinquent (understatement). Haha! I also read a lot. So, book recommendations are always welcome with me. I want recommendations on Pinoy Chicklit and why the reader loves that title. I also want recommendations on non-fiction (haven't really explored this area too much) and fantasy (haven't explored this in a while).

I'm definitely going with friends (and office mates).

And I'm always excited to meet fellow readers.

So come on over to the Filipino ReaderCon this coming December 7 at the Rizal Library, Ateneo de Manila.

Filipino Fridays #4 Digital Reading: A Short History Starting 2011

It's Filipino Friday again! Here's this week's question: Do you read (or have at least tried to read) books in other formats aside from print? How was your experience with these different book formats?

Answer: Absolutely! My very first digital book was George R. R. Martin's A Dance With Dragons. I discovered Game of Thrones only in 2011 and I was addicted to the Game of Thrones books, devouring them as quickly as I bought them. And when I got to his last book it was always out of stock. After trying three stores, I gave up. And then a friend of mine suggested that I just buy the e-book. The what? At that time, I had not capitulated to tablets yet. But where would I read it? On my computer, apparently! But that would be too tiresome! I thought about it for maybe five minutes (I was that addicted to GOT) and then I bought it. This was on July 23, 2011. I know this fact because I can check my account on Amazon and see exactly when I bought a book. There was no turning back after that.

My next purchase was The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft. What an absolute treat! I read Lovecraft so late in life. But better late than never. I adore his stories! In between A Dance with Dragons and The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft, I had acquired an iPad 2. It was a grief purchase (it's the perfect way I can describe it) after Steve Jobs had died. On that very iPad, I read Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs. In Jobs' honor, I downloaded the free e-book, Autobiography of a Yogi (I still haven't finished that book, though). By this time, I was very comfortable with e-books already. In fact, for one of my book club choices, I decided on an e-book version of The Silver Linings Playbook (this time on the Kobo reader).

A year later, I got an iPad mini for myself and I turned over the iPad 2 to the kids (creating a different kind of learning revolution for the kids as well -- that's a different post altogether). I'm a certified e-book reader already.

BUT.... Let me just qualify that I am a physical book lover and I just can't take it out of my system. Maybe because I'm a digital immigrant, having crossed that threshold between analog and digital within my lifetime (I can't say the same thing for my kids).

Let me use a demonstration of this. I got an e-book version of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows but for some reason I didn't start on it. I read a few pages from the first chapter and then never progressed from there. I was perfectly aware that it was a charming book. But for some reason, I didn't feel the charm in the e-book. Several months later, I was at a secondhand book shop and I saw the paperback version of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I bought it immediately. And then the romance with the book started. I was so in love with it that I saved it (like eating cake a little at a time and then storing it in the freezer to be taken out and re-heated again). I couldn't bear to read it too fast. It was that kind of novel. I realized, then, that I'm still a physical book kind of girl after all. It doesn't stop me from buying e-books, though.

There was a time that I was giving away my physical books left and right (donating them to libraries -- a big batch went to the Jesuit Volunteers of the Philippines -- and then another big batch went to a friend for a library he was building for a school in the province). I said that I would be reading e-books from then on. But, no. That was not the case. I didn't exclusively read e-books after that. I still ended up buying physical books, anyway. Which made my husband shake his head: "What was the point of giving away those books when you'd stock up more books to take their place?" Hmmm. Bookworm is a bookworm.

Also, a word about children's books. We have a lot of physical children's books at home. I like the idea of having my kids touch books and physically flip the pages. I make sure we spend time reading analog books. One of my favorite activities is taking them to a secondhand book shop and letting them choose whatever book they want.

BUT...I also read e-books to them. One of my favorite children's books is Playtime With Monster by Michael Yu. It was a free e-book but it was much appreciated by my son and I. It's so sulit because now my youngest is enjoying the book that her kuya very much enjoyed before her. I made sure to leave a positive review for the book because I owe that much to the author for making such a lovely book free. Another e-book that I actually bought to read with my son is Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman. It has all my son's favorite stuff in it (from pirates and aliens to dinosaurs and sharks and piranhas). We read it together and he still remembers all the little details that I thought he would forget.

So that was the long answer to the question. Haha! I love reading. So, reading in digital is something I can get comfortable with. It helps in terms of not having to lug around a lot of physical books. Also, when I'm impatient, I go for the digital version so I don't have to line up for it (or worse, encounter the problem of no stocks). There are books that are also out of print and aren't readily available in bookstores. I got a copy of Stephen King's On Writing in e-book format simply because I knew that I wouldn't be able to get a copy of it in local bookstores anymore. But I am still a physical-books-analog girl. There's nothing like holding and smelling a book. :-)

In sum, I just keep reading. And I hope my kids catch the bug permanently. They are already digital and analog readers as well. Here's to more readers!

If you love to read, come to the Filipino ReaderCon this coming November 9 (Saturday) at the Ateneo de Manila Rizal Library. It's going to be very fun! The theme is What Do Readers Want? So, that will be very interesting.

Filipino Fridays #3 Good Omens for Reading: The Pinoy Book Drop 2013

Good Omens left at a company pantry

Qs: First, kindly detail all the books that you have dropped, and where and when you dropped them.
– Next: tell us all about your experience. How did you feel before and after you dropped the books? How did you choose the places where you dropped them? Did you check back and see if the books were still there? Do you have any idea who might have found them?

Okay, I was a bit delinquent here. My book drop happened exactly today. The book I chose was Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. I was a bit reluctant to let it go. It's quite dogeared from use. I dropped it off at a company pantry after lunch so I expect that it will be discovered by the merienda crowd. I already told the janitor not to put it away but to leave it where it was (conspicuously displayed on one of the tables).  No takers yet. I left a number for the book adopter to text in case the book was already picked up. So far, no text.

How did I feel? I felt anxious for my book. I wanted someone cool to be the one to pick it up. That book was really fun and it's by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett! I was also afraid that because I left it at a media company's pantry (I chose this venue more out of convenience than anything!)....it might be that most of the people there already read Good Omens. Hmmmm. I hope at least one of them hasn't read it and would appreciate randomly finding the book during merienda. Or maybe I'm just overthinking this. I'll probably update this blog post later on for an update on where the book went.

Since I was delinquent...I'll just go ahead and answer the second set of questions, anyway, for those who didn't do the book drop.

Image from npr.org. 

Qs: Tell us about your most memorable or favorite book hunting experience. Have you ever found a book in a most unexpected place? If you find a dropped book somewhere, what would you do with it? Where do you get your books nowadays? Do you still go to bookstores, or do you buy/order books online?

Image from goodreads.com.

My favorite book hunting experience happened in City Lights bookstore, San Francisco. It was there where I found several books by Jane Hirshfield. I hardly see her books here in Manila and it was such a wonderful experience to find her books: Given Sugar, Given Salt and The October Palace.

I've never just found a book lying around, though. If I found one, I'd check the title and keep it if I liked it. Sorry, finders keepers. Hahaha!

Nowadays, I get my books online if I can't wait to buy the physical book (I did this with Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin, I didn't bother waiting for the book in the bookstores, I just went ahead and bought it online after getting thwarted by several out-of-stock experiences). When I happen to be in Fully Booked, I always end up picking up a book (example: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I heard a good review from a friend and when I saw it at the bookstore I just bought it). However, most of my serendipitous discoveries happen in second hand bookstores. I have such fun looking for books there. I almost always never leave without a book in my bag.

All in all, I hope my participation in the book drop is a good omen for more reading in the Philippines...well, at least in my building!

So, if you're a fellow reader...come to the Filipino Reader Con happening on November 9, 2013 at the Rizal Library in Ateneo de Manila.

Filipino Friday 2013 #1 What Species of Book Reader Am I? Definitely Azkal

Come to the Filipino Reader Con this coming November 9!

First of all, let me just give a bit of a background. I'm participating in this year's Filipino Reader Con preparations. As an avid reader, I'm very happy to contribute to the Reader Con's Filipino book blogger Fridays.

So today, the idea is a bit of an introduction but instead of using a conventional way of introducing ourselves, we need to use the reader classifications made by Laura E. Kelly (see graphic below).

I am definitely a mongrel reader. So, how do I love books? Let me count the ways.

1. I am a compulsive book cherisher.

• I am a book worshipper. I keep collecting and collecting books. I tried giving them away to libraries and reading programs....but I end up getting more books, anyway. 
• I am also a book hoarder. I collect but I don't necessarily read them all. This is related to my being a conflicted reader...but we'll get there later. 
• I'm also a compulsive book buyer. This is now related to my being a book rescuer because I'd definitely burn holes in my pocket if I just kept going for brand new books.

2. I am also a compulsive book abuser

• I am a book rescuer. Whenever I go do the groceries, whether I'm in Shopwise or in Pioneer Center, I end up in the secondhand bookshops there. I find some excuse and then I can't leave empty handed. 
• I am NOT a book underliner and scribbler but I wanted to take this up because my mother was certainly this type of book abuser. I'm glad she did it. And I love her for it. I cherish all those underlines and notes. 
• I am a self-confessed promiscuous reader. Sometimes I read three different books in the same day but in different situations (see situational reader later on). Or sometimes I abandon the other book or books I'm reading in favor of one that has become more interesting or un-put-down-able. 

3. I am a situational reader

• As a situational reader, I am an omni-reader. I read anything, even receipts and labels and food ingredients. Anything. When I eat breakfast, I am reading the nutrition table on the milk box. When I am stuck anywhere and I didn't bring my own reading material, I hunt around for something to read.
• I am also an app happy reader. Whenever I am waiting for my husband to pick me up I read a book on my iPhone. Whenever I am waiting, in general, I am reading on the most convenient form of book, the eBook. 
• I am a sleepy bedtime reader. I think this gets me into trouble because my reading time eats into my sleeping time. I also read somewhere that the glow from a digital device (even when it's in night mode) affects my sleepiness. So there. I am in the bad habit of doing this. The thing is, I can't help it. 
• I am a bathroom reader. Haha! That sounds gross. But it's been something that I've done since way back. I can't go into the bathroom to do you-know-what without a book. I have to confess too...I end up shouting from the bathroom to have someone pass me a book because I just can't do it without a book. Sorry, TMI. 

4. I am a social reader

• I am a book clubber. I can't do without my book club mates. There are some things I can only discuss with my book club. Although my book club is kind of delinquent, it doesn't stop us from reading outside of our reading list and doing Facebook shout-outs to each other about what we're reading. 

5. I am also a free range reader

• It's complicated for me. I read anything. I read YA and, as a mom, I read toddler books too. I read anything. But don't get me wrong, I'm also a resister (see below). 

6. I'm a conflicted reader too. I'm a self-confessed delayed onset reader and a slow starter when it comes to some books. Some examples of these books: Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns (now that I've read it, I can't wait to read his other books! And I can't believe I waited months to read his book). It took me a very long time to continue reading the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society book too. It had to do with the format, I think. I'll explain in another post when we talk about eBook and print book reading habits. I remember that it took me a very long time to get start started with To Kill a Mockingbird. But when I did read it, I couldn't put it down and I was in tears when I finished reading the book. 

So there, that's me, the azkal reader. :-) Glad to meet you!

Infographic by Laura E. Kelly.

Visit Laura-e-Kelly.com for more about books, reading, and authors.

On The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book. I also observed something about myself as a reader. I had the e-Book version of Guernsey in my iPad for quite some time but it was only when I bought the paperback in a second hand book shop that I actually started reading it. Strange. I enjoyed it more as a paperback even though I never really had problems with reading a book on my tablet before.

Well, on to the book itself. It was the kind of book that I was stretching out because I wanted to savor it. I would read a letter or two every night and I would look forward to going home and reading it. So, no, it wasn't a page turner for me. It was more like "comfort reads" if there is such a thing (a read that is similar to comfort food). I loved every little detail. I loved Kit and the way she was not so easy to love. I loved Booker trying to pass off as genteel. I loved Dawsey and his quiet ways. I loved Juliet and how she hadn't settled (well I won't give away spoilers here). It's a straightforward tale and it's easy to love. Charming is the word. It's like watching Downton Abbey and observing all the little nuances including the differences in class.

What I loved most was the literary society itself. While they faked it till they made it...I love how *reading* made a difference in their lives. Each of them had their own choices and how they were not timid about saying that they loved or hated a book. And while Juliet was the heroine, it was Elizabeth McKenna who was the soul of the Guernsey Literary Society and I loved her too for being the kind of woman she was.


View all my reviews

ModPo 2013 #12 Abandonment and Epiphany: On Armantrout's "The Way"

My own drawing. :-)

Note: I am currently taking a course on Coursera.org called Modern and Contemporary American Poetry taught by Al Filreis of the University of Pennsylvania. I will be posting my thoughts on the course discussions here.

The Way

BY RAE ARMANTROUT


Card in pew pocket
announces,
“I am here.”

I made only one statement
because of a bad winter.


Grease is the word; grease
is the way

I am feeling.
Real life emergencies or

flubbing behind the scenes.

As a child,
I was abandoned

in a story
made of trees.

Here’s the small
gasp

of this clearing
come “upon” “again”
______________________

I agree with the video discussion: this is the most difficult poem of week 2! Guidance was definitely needed for this poem. I even missed the meaning of "pew pockets," to think I grew up a Catholic. I also would have totally missed the collage of "I's" if I didn't sit in the discussion.


But, having read the poem in full appreciation, I must say that I am enchanted. Before the video discussion, I did catch a glimpse of the magical in the phrase "a story/ made of trees." There's something about it that invites further reading. And, yes, I was rewarded. I wrote in my notes: "Something magical in the fractures."


Why are difficult poems worth reading? Well, this one in particular, was a revelation. There are multitudes of "I's" but there is, ultimately, the I that has emerged from reading. Because, I am an advocate of reading, this poem holds special significance to me. I am always worried about whether my children will be readers. Maybe because I have "trophy parent" tendencies or maybe because I just want them to experience what I did in my childhood.


I love that notion: "I was abandoned/ in a story/ made of trees." I forget that reading is abandonment if it is truly enjoyable. No one can force anyone to read. But once the reading begins...there is a sense of abandonment. Not in a negative sense...but in a context of pure play, pure exploration. One must abandon one's children to reading if they are to enjoy it.


As a parent, that was reassuring to me. I need to let go some more!


And lastly, I loved that "into the woods" gasp in the clearing. For me, it stands for epiphany, one of my ars poetica elements. Let's stop here: "Once upon a time..." Those were my favorite few words, growing up. I couldn't wait to read. I wanted to hear the story. And then I would tell the stories to my own siblings. There is a moment of surprise, a moment of discovery that defines the life of a reader...and also the life of a writer. Combined with Cid Corman's notion of relationship, Armantrout's story of abandonment and epiphany help me see reading (and writing) in a new light.

ModPo 2013 #11 Us, Here, Detained: On Corman's "It isnt for want"

Image from emergentbydesign.com.

Note: I am currently taking a course on Coursera.org called Modern and Contemporary American Poetry taught by Al Filreis of the University of Pennsylvania. I will be posting my thoughts on the course discussions here.

Cid Corman, "It isnt for want"

It isnt for want 

of something to say-- 

something to tell you-- 

something you should know-- 

but to detain you-- 

keep you from going-- 

feeling myself here 

as long as you are-- 

as long as you are.

I was thoroughly confused by this poem at first. And, once again, I credit the video discussion for clearing things up for me. This is one of my favorite poems for week 2. I think it's really important and really relevant to me as a writer. 

What a revolutionary idea: content is not the point, self-expression is not the point. While these things are clearly important, the relationship trumps all. This really blew my mind. It also explains how pieces of work get into the Canon. It is the relationship between the work and the critic, the academic (or whoever chooses what gets into an anthology) just as much as it becomes the relationship between reader and writer. Everything is relationship. Gigabytes of content are produced out of pure relationship on social networks. Wattpad is a thriving community of readers and writers (no matter how wanting some of those works might be for me, a particular reader). 

I had an interesting conversation about the Wattpad aesthetic with a friend of mine. Will these popular pieces of content outshine well-written content? What makes them compelling? I responded with "Well, the writer had something really exciting to share, maybe. That's why people are excited by the content." What I didn't take into account was the reader. Something in what the writer produced sparked, detained the reader and it is half as much about the reader as it is about the writer. 

This is an epiphany for my own writing. The instinct to detain is something to remember. Even if it is only detaining myself... it is detaining a reader, nevertheless, and that will keep the work read. 

Who Got Me Into Reading?

by Justine Camacho-Tajonera

I would have to say that it was my Mom who got me into reading even though she died when I was only three years old. She left so many books behind that I was too intrigued to leave them alone. One of the first books that I got my hands on was Justine by Lawrence Durrell, one of her favorite writers. For obvious reasons, I was drawn to it. I wrote my name on it when I was very young. I wrote an essay about it called Claiming Alexandria in the now defunct literary journal, Pen & Ink. It was on marginalia and how it has a very personal history for me.  You see, my mother wrote notes in her books. Others may claim that it's a messy habit. But not for me. I'm so glad she wrote those notes. I have a piece of her that I can always keep with me. Whenever I'm in a secondhand bookstore, I automatically look for the Alexandria Quartet (Justine, Balthazar, Mountolive, Clea). I named my daughter Clea, naturally.

There were other books in her library too: The Sacred and Profane Love Machine by Iris Murdoch, Five by Iris Murdoch, Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, Women and Madness, and so many more. I will always be grateful to her for leaving this legacy to me. I've had a peek at her world and who she was through the books she read.

I make reading a part of my family life now. I make sure that both my kids catch the habit and see me reading. Reading books is a wonderful thing. It's not just a pastime. It's a whole world of thinking that cannot be replaced by TV or the computer. And it's a way of keeping my mother's love alive too.

Image from http://www.larsenbooks.com.au/c19.htm

Books By My Bed

By Justine C. Tajonera

When the household
settles down,
when the curtains are
drawn,
when the dishes
have been
dried,
I lean towards
the lamp
and reach out
for the silent
companion
for the
night.


I do not feel
deprived
of sleep
as the narrator
slowly
unfolds,
spreads out
and rolls to the
edges
of the
story.

I am privileged,
laughing privately
or moved
to tears.

And while I may not
have reread
most of the
books by
my bed,

I am loath
to part
with such
faithful friends
and I carry them
from house to
house,
familiar
and once-beloved,
like a child
who cannot
let go
of the ragged
old
bear.

(Dec. 3, 2009)

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicmcphee/352157407/in/photostream/

Bookmarks

By Justine C. Tajonera

I never buy bookmarks.
They're everywhere
I am.
Desperate to mark a page,
I've run into bizarre
alternatives:
toilet paper, receipts,
scraps of newspaper,
gum wrap, leaves,
tea and sugar packets,
a piece
of string, movie tickets,
socks, coins, photos,
price tags.

The world is full of
everything we need
if we define
the results
and remove the boxes
around our
heads.

(Oct. 17, 2009)

Image from www.wheregotfree.com