Here's a look back on my 2007 reading list. It totals to 34, just like the number of years I've been alive. Hehe. Titles in bold are books that I especially loved; titles in bold red are books i especially especially loved.

1 The Book of Dead Days Marcus Sedgwick
2 The Dark Flight Down Marcus Sedgwick
3 The Marvellous Land of Snergs E.A. Wyke-Smith
4 The Dragon's Eye Dugald A. Steer
5 The Obsidian Dagger Catherine Webb
6 Peter Pan J.M. Barrie --- I finally got around to reading this classic. I loved it. It's bittersweet; there's a hint of melancholia in there. It made my heart ache.
7 The Amulet of Samarkand Jonathan Stroud*
8 The Golem's Eye Jonathan Stroud*
9 Daughter of the Forest Juliet Marillier
10 The Faery Reel Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, editors
11 Ptolemy's Gate Jonathan Stroud* (*part of the Bartimaeus Trilogy) - Bartimaeus the djinni is witty and sarcastic as hell! Loved the characters. All three books took me through the development of the lead character (a young magician) and his relationship with his summoned djinn. No, it's nothing like Harry Potter. It's different and good on its own. For me, it gave me the whole adventure (and a huge wallop of heart) in just three books.
12 Son of Shadows Juliet Marillier
13 His Majesty's Dragon Naomi Novik
14 We All Fall Down Robert Cormier
15 The Neverending Story Michael Ende
16 The Children of Hurin J.R.R. Tolkien - Tragic and a half. One of my favorite tales from The Silmarillion, now in its own book!
17 The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear Walter Moers**
18 The Dark is Rising Susan Cooper
19 Child of the Prophecy Juliet Marillier
20 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J.K. Rowling
21 Rumo Walter Moers**
22 The Fall of Fergal Philip Ardagh

23 The City of Dreaming Books Walter Moers** (Zamonia books) - Set in the crazy world of Zamonia, these books are stand-alone stories; they don't have anything to do with each other, except for same characters popping up here and there occasionally. The characters and the details of the world are so absurd, it takes a bit of will to swallow them. But, after a while, you get used to it and you get swept along the story. And things fit nicely in the end. Lots of quirky illustrations, too. (The writer is a comic book writer/artist)

24 Beauty Robin McKinley
25 LOTR (reread) JRR Tolkien - hehehe
26 Night of the Soul Stealer Joseph Delaney
27 The Golden Compass (reread) Philip Pullman
28 Wildwood Dancing Juliet Marillier
29 The Book Thief Markus Zusak - A must-read, in my opinion. It's beautifully written, with dry humor befitting the narrator of the story: Death. The setting: Nazi Germany.
30 I Am The Messenger Markus Zusak
31 The Lies of Locke Lamora Scott Lynch - Loved the characters; there's humor, action, and tragedy; the world where the story is set is new to me and very refreshing in terms of fantastic worlds. I want to read it again. I miss the Sanzas.
32 Comet in Moominland Tove Jansson
33 Lirael Garth Nix
34 Abhorsen Garth Nix

My 2008 book pile so far is composed of books I bought before I brought down the book buying ban on myself again (yesterday) and books given by friends for Christmas 2007 and (even 2006 haha!)

Finally, copies of The Search for the Red Dragon by James Owen (Sequel to Here There Be Dragons) are available in Fully Booked. Got me one, as well as the 2nd book in Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard sequence "Red Seas Under Red Skies."

Karen Kristie and Ava got me a copy of The Thirteenth Tale, a story I've been wanting to read but am a little scared to. Perhaps I'll start on that another time, when the sun is out :-P

I have more Dragon stories waiting on my pile, books 2 and 3 of the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik from Grace and Carol! :-D

Then The Stone Light by Kai Meyer (sequel to The Water Mirror) is on the pile too, thanks to Data and Benc!

Hindi ako mahilig sa series ano? There are more titles in the book pile, but these will most likely be my reads for January. Happy happy.

Here's to more of the things we love in 2008! And new discoveries as well. Happy new year everyone!

Labels: books

Labels: books, home, photographs

Happy days! It's December and the book ban is officially off for an entire month. The ban will be imposed once again when December is over or when I have no more money left (whichever comes sooner).

Reading update:
I have finished a good deal of my 2007 reading pile while sneaking in a quick reread of Lord of the Rings and an even quicker reread of The Golden Compass (a refresher of sorts before I watched the movie -- which I did yesterday!). And now the book pile is growing in height once again.

My purchases:
Finally found a paperback copy of Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier in Fully Booked and that's what I'm reading right now. It's a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale.

I also bought: Marcus Zusak's The Book Thief and I Am the Messenger, Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora, The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke, and a silly little book called Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson.

The Moomin series caught my attention while browsing in the children's section of Fully Booked High Street, because the illustration style of the cover art looked so familiar. And the name of the author rang a bell. I took a quick shot of the book with my celphone so I could research about it online. Turns out my guess was correct. Tove Jansson did the illustrations for the Finnish edition of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit. I had stumbled upon her illustrations some time ago while browsing for Hobbit-related artwork. The Moomin books enjoy quite a following, it turns out. You can even find Moomintrolls on Flickr.

My LibraryThing
Now that I have more time, I've been updating my LibraryThing catalog. I've upgraded to a lifetime membership, too, because free Shelfari just does not cut it.

There's a better free alternative to Shelfari, though, if anyone's interested. My friend Val pointed me to anobii. It's a prettier site but its database is not as extensive as LT's just yet -- most titles only offer one cover art, and you have to upload different editions yourself. You can't manually add books, either, so if for some reason the site can't find your book's info, you can't add it at all. I've made an account there as well just for the heck of it (it's easy enough to import catalog data). But, my anobii shelf does not accurately reflect my books' editions. It also doesn't have my Nick Joaquin story books and a few other titles because they're not in their database.

But, all in all, if you're not particular about things like cover art and book editions, it's all right. In any case, it's much better than Shelfari and has that regular clean grid look and not the shelf look that Shelfari has which I do not like at all. The site's faster, too.

I'll go back to reading in a while (it's fun to wake up at 4am for no reason at all on a day when you have no work!), right after I browse the forums in LT.

Yey for December!

Labels: books

my photo was published in a Subic guidebook :)

Labels: books, photographs

I've been catching up on my reading. I have a long way to go to finish Walter Moer's Rumo: And His Miraculous Adventures, another story set in Zamonia where the 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear took place. It's a rather hefty book, but the content is fairly light, even silly. Just as silly as Bluebear was, which I really enjoyed.

So this is how I've been spending my nights in my new place. That, and watching Haibane Renmei.

But, I'm reading far too slowly than I'd like. I'm looking at my bookpile and I can't wait to get into them. I also want to reread the Harry Potter series and His Dark Materials. My friend Joon is reading The Golden Compass right now and I'm getting envious!

Now's the perfect time to read, but I forgot my book. That's the problem with reading a BIG book. It's difficult to lug around.

I want to go home already and have dinner and read. I hope our edit finishes soon.

Some book blogs that I've been reading lately:
The Book Moot
Wands and Worlds

Labels: books

I left my house at 8:30 pm last night to meet a friend in Chocolate Kiss in UP and I realized that pretty soon I won't be able to just up and leave for a quick bite in one of my favorite place. I will be relocating near a 24-hour Starbucks branch, but that's little consolation seeing as how I don't drink coffee. I really will miss my little trips to that tree haven. Where I'm going won't have as many trees. Just really tall concrete structures that soak up the sun's heat and radiate it to bake people alive. Fun fun fun.

Yesterday, I sampled the kind of strain that I'll have to get used to when I move. I got to the condo around 2pm and I worked on getting the books on the shelves up until 4pm. I felt really enclosed, and I lost track of time. It felt like it was already 7pm, because the light doesn't reach my windows much. When my cousin and I stepped out of the building, it surprised me to see that the day was still pretty light. I felt such relief being out.

No more waking up to the sound of the birds that hang out on the ledge above my window. No more watching the sky above my neightbor's roof change color from blue to purple to orange -- and on a freaky day, fiery red -- as I'm sitting at my computer at sundown. No more mornings listening to my violinist neighbor practice while drinking a cold glass of milk.

My mom treats my move as an upgrade. I hear it in how she speaks. I don't think she really liked where I live now. I guess in a way it is an upgrade -- the security, the convenience, and the yes, the condo is a much better unit even if it's old. My apartment is kinda dilapidated. And of course, there's the fact that it'll be rent-free.

But, I really liked it here. I liked living so close to UP. I liked the small village eateries. No Starbucks, just Brothers Kebab or Nanette's puto bumbong and bibingka. Fishballs at the College of Music. Palitaw at the Sunken Garden. Taho from the street vendor in the morning.

I guess I can't get the middle-class, village-living kid out of me.

I know Makati has its charms, but they're so different. But, since I am the type to always try to find and enjoy the best in things, I'm sure I'll enjoy living in Makati, too.

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NO SPOILERS

My first time to read Harry Potter was when a 5 and Up colleague of mine lent us a paperback copy of the book "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Her brother, an airline pilot, had picked it up in the US having heard some kind of buzz about it. "It's all the rage daw," she had said. Around that time, HP-mania had not reached us full force just yet. And we passed the book from producer to producer, agreeing that yes, it was quite an enjoyable read!

After that, I eagerly read volume after volume of Harry's adventures -- some living up to the magic of that first reading. Some not quite. But, even with all my complaints about JK Rowling's style of writing -- especially her mandatory story-ending dialogue between characters that explains everything -- I must say that I loved this series.

I found thrills, adventures, and magic in those books. I found romance -- not the lovey dovey idea of romance, but high romantic ideals such as valour and honor and honesty. I found wizardry and witchcraft wrapped around a very human heart.

And I've always maintained, whenever critics put down Harry Potter as mere pop literature undeserving of such hoopla, that if it got kids to read, to imagine, to dream, and to stay kids just a little longer, then it has cast a powerful magic indeed. And if only for that, J.K. Rowling deserves all the success she has received.

Photo: A young Hogwarts witch chooses the right broomstick (HP7 book launch, Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street, 21 July 2007)

Labels: books, home

I am moving in slowly but surely! I brought my books, cds, and other junk to the condo so I could stow them away before we move in the bigger things. This way, I get to fix the place at a more leisurely pace.

My cousin Mayo helped me move the heavy boxes. He also helped with shelving the cds and dvds.


I'm putting my LOTR poster there for now. I don't want to drive holes into the wall! So I'll just let it lean like that. Above it are my Tolkien books. Ahehe, cheesy.

The final move is next weekend. I'll be glad when the transfer is over. It's tiring.

Labels: books, home

On my way to meet my parents in Kimpura (Greenhills) earlier this evening, I walked past the window of Booksale and spotted a nice looking book called The Unicorn.

I got curious about it, so I decided to check it out (never mind that my parents had already ordered and were ringing my celphone).

When I entered, they had this other book on the front rack that got me all excited. It was a book on The Beatles. I quickly scanned the cover for the author and saw that it was the name I had been hoping to see: Robert Freeman.

I had been checking out Amazon for Robert Freeman books on The Beatles, and now here was The Beatles: A Private View in Booksale. Of course, I bought it (and The Unicorn, too!).

Robert Freeman is a photographer who worked with The Beatles. You are probably familiar with some of his work -- the covers of the albums With The Beatles, Beatles For Sale, Rubber Soul, and Help!

I'm so happy. The book isn't in mint condition, but I don't care. The pages are in good condition, anyway. Only the covers are a little raggedy, especially the corners.





The Unicorn book looks very cool, too. Here are some images from it:



Yes yes, I know I wasn't supposed to buy any more books. But, you have to admit -- a Robert Freeman book on The Beatles in Booksale? You gotta be insane to pass that up.

Besides, it's gonna look mighty nice beside my photo book of The Rolling Stones (which I also got on sale, yeah!) ;-)

Labels: books

Worked from the house today. It was a pretty productive day, even with the constant temptation to just click-hop through the web. I stepped out to pay my bills, too.

To reward myself for getting my work done before 1pm, I went to Gateway for a late lunch at Ten Titas. I ordered my usual arroz caldo, hehe. Sarap eh. Juliet Marillier's Son of the Shadows kept me company during lunch. (I recently finished JRR Tolkien's The Children of Hurin)

After my yummy lunch, I went around Fullybooked. No, I did not buy anything. I just took photos of books using my phone.

Labels: books

I was close to buying a Creative Zen V Plus or a Zen Neeon 2 today, to tide me over until my order of the ZVM 60 arrives. So, I stopped by the store to check out the little flash players (which would be handy when I run). The store said the units will arrive on the third week of May. In which case, I think I can wait. I didn't buy a flash player. I hope the ZBM60 really does arrive this month.

My other orders arrived today, though. So, I made a quick stop at Fullybooked to pick them up: Walter Moers' The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear, Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures, and The City of Dreaming Books. They look like a fun read (and the reviews on Amazon and LibraryThing are pretty good, too).

I'll move on to those books as soon as I finish the book I'm reading now --- Naomi Novik's His Majesty's Dragon, the first book in the Temeraire series. It's a fantasy set in the Napoleonic war, with England and France engaged in naval and aerial battle, the latter performed by their respective air force composed of dragons.

------

A friend is flying in for a 3-week visit and I'm very much looking forward to that! Hobbit Party time! =)

The week is about to begin again. Gotta suck it up and deal with going to work in Makati.

Labels: books

I just finished reading the last book of The Bartimaeus Trilogy a few minutes ago. The whole set is exciting and very funny. I just loved it.

The Bartimaeus Trilogy is made up of the following books: The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem's Eye, and Ptolemy's Gate. The story revolves around Nathaniel, a young magician who develops his powers and ascends the ranks in the English government, which is run by magicians. In the story, magicians get their power from spirits summoned from the Other Place. Nathaniel's demon slave is a djinni named Bartimaeus. He's a wisecracking character and provides much of the humor in the story.

It seems like a formulaic enough beginning, but Nathaniel's story progresses in a way that is less common in fantasy stories. It's not just about discovering one's power and using it for a great purpose. It's not about growing into one's destiny. Or maybe, to an extent, it is. But, it takes an uncommon path.

There's quite a bit of politics in the story, but underneath all the action and the witty repartee, and the intricate yet solid plot, is a story about redemption. While it takes you on a thrilling ride along the plot, it also deals a wallop of heart. And it's neither forced nor awkward. This is one series that's good from the first book to the very last word.

Read it! Read it!

Labels: books

Two Saturdays, I finally tackled the long overdue task reorganizing my bookcase. While I was at it, I decided to move things around my living room. I ended up making my living room look too sparsely furnished. I don't have a lot of furniture, see. But it's ok. I find that after I moved things around, I spend more time downstairs. I even turn on the TV, wow.


The reason why the sofa isn't facing the tv is because I don't really watch tv. Most of my tv watching is done during meals. So the tv is facing the dining table. It's still possible to hang out on the couch and watch tv. When I get a longer and better extension cord, I'll be able to angle the tv rack better.

Those books on the stairs, I moved them to a different spot today. The top edge of the books gathered a lot of dust after keeping them there a long time (and not dusting them enough. Fine, at all.)

Now they're stacked beside the coffee table. That table has storage space too, but it's already filled with stuff, mostly books.



The picture reveals the sofa's injury. See it leaning over to the left? One of the legs broke off. Next project is to have the sofa fixed (its leg, and perhaps the upholstery). And while the sofa's out getting a facelift, I might have the walls painted. Then maybe I can have some of my posters (see them rolled up under the coffeetable) framed, and hung on the walls. Choosing between my gigantic map of Mordor (a pasalubong from my friend Oneal) or my lomo posters. We'll see. I'm sure it will take a few months before I get any more of my plans done.

So, yeah. So far, it's good. I now spend time here, usually to read. The sofa faces the bookshelf, where the books are now nice, neat and (relatively) dustless.

Labels: books

My tita and I spent the day together in Makati.



After an early lunch at A Veneto, we headed off to Hotel Intercon to attend the Read or Die convention. It's the first convention of its kind in town (that I know of). We attended two of the many scheduled talks for the day. The first one was on Philippine folklore by the UP Folklorists organization, where my Tita got asked to read a sample of a tanaga out loud. Hehe. It was an interesting talk and I figured maybe I should learn more about our local folklore, our epics and our myths. I already like what I know if it. As a kid, I used to devour it with the same appetite as any other legend from elsewhere. If I can find a decent book about it when I go back today, I'll get a copy.

The New Worlds Alliance (an alliance of scifi and fantasy groups in the Philippines) hosted its own talk in another room. Unfortunately, it was around the same time as the Philippine folklore talk, so I missed our own discussion. I did slip in to take a few shots, and I was glad to see that it had a good size audience.



After the folklore talk, we looked at the book merchants area. It doesn't compare to the Philippine Book Fair, of course, which happens yearly. This was a much smaller affair, with just a handful of book stores, distributors and publishers in attendance.

There were also small book clubs with tables and a nice collection of pre-owned books for sale. Our own geek cirlce had a table which accepted sign-ups for membership.

And as the costuming folks will sieze any opportunity to wear their costumes, you can be sure that there were enough Trekkies and Jedi walking around. Today, Sunday, the Imperials will have their turn. So, there'll be armored Stormtroopers browsing the aisles of books with you if you're going today.

While I was walking around the book hall, I overheard the lady from the Goethe Institut informing a guest about the forum they were hosting and it turned out it was about The Brothers Grimm and the fairy tales they collected. I fetched my Tita from wandering the book hall and we headed to the room. I enjoyed that talk immensely. Incidentally, I had just been discussing and researching about the Grimms the night before! It's interesting how the later versions of their tales had been sanitized for mainstream reading. Just check out this side-by-side comparison of the 1812 and 1857 versions of Rapunzel. I was able to participate in the talk haha, it reminded me of school. But, I don't remember attending a class as fun as this fairy tale class.

It was a good day at the convention.

We left the con to go shopping in Glorietta and I got me new shoes. This is significant because I bought non-opentoed shoes which I rarely do. Aside from my running shoes and cleats, I have only one other pair of shoes. And I've worn it four times since I got them last summer. I like my footwear nice and open. And if I get away with it, I'd wear flipflops every single day. But, my new shoes are cute. So, we'll see how we get along.



Imagine that. I walked away from the convention without purchasing a single book! Hurrah!

But, today might be a different matter. =)

Labels: books

Ahem.

I did not sleep early last night, although I logged out early enough. The book I was reading consumed me, and I didn't put it down until after midnight. After which, it took a while for me to fall asleep because of the story (the first few chapters of it) swirling in my head, teasing me to turn the lights back on and keep reading.

I did not wake up early, naturally.

I took my time getting ready, not really having a definite agenda at the office, and was able to read a few more chapters before leaving the house.

Upon getting into a cab, I got a message saying I wasn't needed at the office and I could just go straight to a meeting late this afternoon. So, I headed to Eastwood to have lunch and read some more. I dropped by National Bookstore before lunch. And they were on sale.

I did not remain faithful to my book rule. I found a copy of Lirael (book 2 of Abhorsen) and it was selling for 85 pesos! Of course I bought it. Yahoo, with this I realized I got all the Abhorsen books at discounted prices.

I decided to get a copy of Ptolemy's Gate as well, which was selling at regular price.

After lunch, I returned home to read some more of Daughter of the Forest. And as luck would have it, my meeting got moved to next week leaving the rest of the day free to just read. I finished Daughter, and am now about to start with Ptolemy's Gate.

I really enjoyed Daughter of the Forest. It was a fine retelling of the Six Swans fairy tale, although the story extended too much towards the end. On the other hand, that also gave the story something else that sets it apart from the fairy tale. It showed you the other side of 'happily ever after.' Daughter is just one small part of a bigger tapestry that only used the fairy tale as a jump-off point. I'm eager to know how the story develops. Reading an excerpt from the second book, I know that the story moves ever forward, away from the characters that I have grown fond of after such swift reading.

But it will have to wait.

Labels: books

I am now reading my 9th book since the beginning of the year and it's Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier, a retelling of the fairy tale The Six Swans. It's one of my favorite tales, so when I read about it in one of the LibraryThing threads, I emailed Fully Booked an inquiry and then got a copy a few days later.

This was my one book purchase when I finished my 5th book of the year hehe. I've been faithful to my book rule, but I'm afraid that come the weekend, I shall be severely tested. I'll be going to the Read Or Die book convention at the Hotel Intercon in Makati where, if I finish books 9 and 10 in time, I am allowed one purchase.

Right. Good luck to me.

In any case, I already know what that one purchase will be. I'm itching to get Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud, as I loved the first two books of the Bartimaeus Trilogy. Kick ass, they do.

In other news: As of last night, I am happily back to my ideal personal schedule. Logout early. Read a bit. Sleep early. Rise early. Run.

Well, gotta go maintain that sked! ;-) Good night.

Labels: books

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I'm reading Peter Pan now. I like how the author described the scene where Peter first appears. Mrs. Darling had been dozing in one corner of the nursery, dreaming, when Peter flies in through the window.

The dream by itself would have been a trifle, but while she was dreaming the window of the nursery blew open, and a boy did drop on the floor. He was accompanied by a strange light, no bigger than your fist, which darted about the room like a living thing; and I think it must have been this light that wakened Mrs. Darling.

She started up with a cry, and saw the boy, and shomehow she knew at once that he was Peter Pan. If you or I or Wendy had been there we should have seen that he was very like Mrs. Darling's kiss. He was a lovely boy, clad in skeleton leaves and the juices that ooze out of trees; but the most entrancing thing about him was that he had all his first teeth. When she saw she was a grown-up, he gnashed the little pearls at her.

Oooh. Not quite the same image of Peter Pan Disney painted.

I like it.

Labels: books

I just heard the garbage truck pass by and I have forgotten to ready the trash for pick up once again! Aggghh. I really should make a note to remind myself, an honest-to-goodness note and stick it on my forehead.

I can't seem to fix my sleeping pattern. Since the holidays have ended, I've been trying to go back to sleeping really early (say 10pm) so I can wake up at 6am. It's not impossible, really. I just need to stay off the internet.

*...........................*

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Ok, so if I put it that way, it does sound impossible. But, no, I can do this. I can simply stop clicking looking for things to do online when I really know that I've checked all the email I could possibly check, read my RSS feeds, visit all the forums I frequent. I really just tend to click around doing nothing. I should stop. I should be in bed by 9:30pm, finish a few chapters of my current reading, and then just sleep. And wake up early. Really early. I miss doing that.

This is probably an alien concept to most people. Why the hell would anyone want to wake up early, especially someone who doesn't have to wake up early not having a strict work sched at the office?

Mornings are nice. I love mornings. Yes, night owls, you have finally met... a morning person.

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Bookpile update: Finished my first five books from my bookpile! And according to my book ban, I am now allowed to buy ONE BOOK! Hehehe.

Geez. I have to finish more if I want to buy at least two books on the 27th when my Tolkien group and I go bookhunting in Cubao.

My original reading pile (started on January 1) numbered 18 books. Just recently I added another title which I found in my library, still unread -- Alice in Wonderland. So that makes 19.

Now reading my sixth this year, Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie -- seen in the photo under Toffee Nut's foot.

Labels: books

I have imposed a book ban on myself.

I can only buy one book for every 5 books that I finish from my reading pile. The pile started at 18 books, counted on January 1 when I 'established' the pile and the ban.

Just finished the first book from the pile, The Dark Flight Down by Marcus Sedgwick. I had started reading The Marvellous Land of Snergs on January 1, but DFD sneaked in cos it's part two of The Book of Dead Days which I finished on the 31st. Couldn't wait to find out what else happend to Boy and Willow.

Now, I'm back to Snergs. =)

Book pile is now at 17.

Labels: books

Last October 21, I had one of my bookbuying sprees at the 4th floor of National Bookstore Cubao, which you would know, if you're an avid book fan, to be the pre-owned and surplus section.

Books in this section are cheaper, and most of them are in really good condition.

Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher
Anyway, I picked up this children's book called Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher. It's from the Magic Shop series written by Bruce Coville. It's a small book, around the size of those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books (remember those?) and targets the same age range, around 8-10.

The Magic Shop series is about this shop of magical things like talking skulls and dragon eggs that appears in different towns from out of nowhere. And disappears again! This shop is run by one Mr. Elives.

In Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, Jeremy stumbles into the magic shop while running away from school bullies and finds himself the new owner of a dragon egg. He doesn't really believe that it's a dragon egg, thinking that Mr. Elives was pulling his leg, until it hatches.

The story revolves around Jeremy's attempt to balance his school and family life while raising the dragon on the side.

I really enjoyed it, it's a quick read and very entertaining.

And while I was reading it, I came across this portion that reminded me a lot of another dragon book I read recently, Eragon . The scene was just so familiar.

Jeremy was trying to name his dragon and was firing dragon names from literature at it: Fafnir? Smaug? (I laughed out loud here) Ouroboros? And the dragon would decline each of the names. And then Jeremy tries another name -- Tiamat? And baby dragon likes it! Then, Jeremy realizes that he had been suggesting masculine dragon names, and that his dragon was female!

Does that sound familiar? If you've read Eragon (this portion isn't in the movie), this is how Eragon names his dragon Saphira. By suggesting a string of dragon names, all masculine, until he realizes that his dragon was female.

Jeremy and Eragon
Now, I know Eragon was influenced by a lot of scifi and fantasy stories. The plotline follows the Star Wars formula (a formula not only used by Star Wars, of course), and the fantasy elements ring of Tolkien (pun intended).

I've been very forgiving of these similarities (considering how much of a Tolkien nut I am). My approach has always been: Christopher Paolini is a young writer and has the rest of his life to enrich his writing. His first work, Eragon, is clearly the work of a boy in love with the modern world's best fantasy stories. And it's not surprising that this would reflect in his story.

Paolini filled his world with races familiar to a lot of fantasy readers -- elves and dwarves; ascribing cultures to each of them that are already sort of standards in fantasy. Elves are of incredible intelligence and are attuned to the world and the life or magic that binds them together. Dwarves live under the mountain and are crafty with their hands. They can create intricately beautiful pieces of art with gems and alloy.

Paolini also have orc-ish characters called Urgals. But, I was pleasantly surprised at how he developed this race in Eldest. I will say no more lest I spoil any new readers.

I don't see anything wrong with Paolini using these fantasy standards. Sure, they're LOTR-ish, but even Tolkien himself borrowed a lot of ideas (A LOT!) from the ancient Norse heroic epics. How he did it -- much more creatively, and cleverly -- is another matter. The result was a mythology that rang so true and so fresh. Readers who dig deep into Tolkien's works and unearth references to the old sagas are not likely to say "rip-off!" but, "damn clever!"

Paolini doesn't have this skill yet. But then again. Tolkien WAS a professor. And he had much more experience in general (with literature, with life). And he had this amazing way of tying up his modern fantasy with the real world's old stories.

So, I see Paolini's first effort as a good one.

But here's the thing.

I've chosen to ignore most of the things a regular fantasy fan would cite as a rip-off.

But, I just can't ignore this similarity to Jeremy's dragon-naming scene. Right after reading that portion, i leafed back to the copyright page to see the publication date.

1991. WAY ahead of Eragon. And bringing it up with my friend Lau on chat, she informs me that Paolini DID cite Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher as one of his influences.

I knew it. I knew it.

I am much more disappointed with this than with all of Paolini's other 'borrowings.' Because the other elements he had used only to develop his plot or the cultures of his races -- but this was just too similar a scene. And from a modern children's book. The source is just too mainstream, obvious, and new. It's less of an homage to heroic epics than a outright copy.

Makes you wonder, what was his editor thinking?

I like Eragon a couple of notches less. But who knows, maybe the third book will be better. The author is maturing, maybe he's learned some.

Oh well, who can say where referencing ends and a ripoff begins?

To wrap up this longwinded rant on Eragon...I shall point out something Paolini and I have in common. Love for dragon lore. And for Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher.

Good one, Mr. Coville. :-)

Labels: books

I loved this book! It's told from the point of view of 13-year old Thomas Ward, who is an apprentice to the County Spook. A spook is a man whose task is to protect the people from the creatures of the Dark like witches and boggarts.

Tom, being the seventh son of a seventh son, has gifts that enable him to be in touch with the Dark. It's not a gift I'd want for myself, and Tom's shown to be half-afraid, half-accepting of it himself.

The story is deliciously spooky. There are a lot of superstitions and legends walking around in the story, set against the backdrop of Lancashire. It mentions places like Pendle (where some real-life witch-hunting took place). The way the story reads makes you really imagine a place where you wouldn't want to be after dark.




The illustrations by Patrick Arrasmith, in woodcut-print style, add to the creepiness of the plot. The illustration for chapter nine gave me quite a start when I turned the page. I didn't photograph it, so it'll be a surprise when you read it :-D

I finished book two, The Last Apprentice: Curse of the Bane , on Christmas. And now I can't wait for the third book. The UK edition of book three (Spook's Secret) is already out (the UK editions sport different titles.)

Unfortunately, only the US editions have Arrasmith's illustrations, so I'll have to wait until the US ed of book three is released.

Labels: books

I'm so happy that I was able to preview our episode early today -- 8pm! -- and was able to get home before 9. That gave me a bit of time to try printing the bookplates I downloaded from My Home Library onto sticker paper.

At first I printed the image too large. I had forgotten to resize it.



And then, I printed them too small. Only 1.5" high.



And then finally, I printed them just the right size.



But, on the wrong side of the sticker paper. Another try and I get the job done.



Ahehehe.

Labels: art, books, crafts

I saw the animated film of The Last Unicorn when I was a kid. I only got to read the book it was based on recently.

The Last Unicorn is a gem of a book. The writing is exquisite and leads you gently into the world of the Unicorn by the hand, but only up to the edge where you can see the story unfolding. In some ways, I got the feeling that I was watching from a respectable distance. I thought it suited the story well, this tone.

I was amazed at the skill of the author in using words. The text was brilliant, and I don't mean it in a "genius" kind of way (although genius would apply as well). The words, they seemed to me both accurate and elusive. It's like turning a many faceted gem, and it seems as though you can't see the thing straight, having all these subtle sparkles winking at you. And I think that was perfect for describing the unicorn, the magic. It's awesome. While reading, I felt like watching the unicorn, but not seeing it completely because of whatever magic that enveloped it.

That's not to say the text was difficult. Not at all. And it's not tiring. As my friend Benc brought up, the story is a mix of myth and pop culture. You'll see the pop elements scattered here in there and it makes a really good mix. The popness of it doesn't dilute the magic. And the magic doesn't become too heavy because of the popness.

The story itself is beautiful, too. It possesses a bittersweetness that moves you, not unlike Hans Christian Andersen's tales.

Labels: books

My group, TPTS, is holding a group reading of JRRT's The Hobbit. It's an activity (online) that I've pushed for. It was thought up by Reitch and I'm glad it has finally started. I realized how much I missed talking about these books that I love so dearly.

If you're new to Tolkien, The Hobbit is the best way to get acquainted with the Professor's works. It's light and entertaining.
While googling for photos of different editions of The Hobbit, I saw this very cute and rather un-Tolkien-y cover. It's not your usual High Fantasy artwork and I like it very much! This is a Dutch language edition. It would be a nice addition to my collection. I collect non-English editions of The Hobbit, but not avidly. I don't seek them actively. Sometimes, my cousin just brings home copies if they're not too expensive.

I wonder how The Hobbit would read if it was translated to Tagalog...

Ang Hobbit ni J.R.R. Tolkien.

Sa isang butas sa lupa, may nakatirang hobbit.

Ngek...that's not the best way to translate the first line, I'm sure.

Can't wait to get The Annotated Hobbit that I ordered from Amazon. And also The Marvellous Land of Snergs which Tolkien has cited as having been an influence on his writing of The Hobbit.

Labels: books, tolkien

My friends and I devised a system to lessen the guess-work in Christmas gift-giving. I know thinking of what to give your friends is part of the fun, but we all decided that hassle-free shopping and receiving the gifts that one likes are a better kind of fun.

So, we opened a Yahoo!Group for our circle and used the database to input our wishlists. It has several columns that display the recipients, the gift, where to get the gift, how much it is, and a column that says "Granted!". This way, people can just browse your list and put an X on the Granted column if he or she is getting the item for you.

While there's no longer any surprise as to which items you'll get, we decided to keep the givers' identities secret just so there's a little surprise left to the whole process.

I've gotten gifts for 4 of my friends already and I'm so excited to give them because I know that they'll love them. Of course I can't wait to get mine, too haha!

Most of my friends asked for books. The nice thing about that is I loved going to the bookshops to look for their books. But, of course, when I buy one book for a friend and end up buying a couple for me.

As early as now, my reading list is set up to the end of the first quarter of 2007. (see photo!)

Next week, I hope to get the rest of my gifts ready. I just need to ride the last work wave of the year, which is turning out to be the most hectic. But work is good. I'm not really complaining. It's work that has afforded me all these goodies in the first place. And for that, I'm really grateful.

Labels: books

Some days ago, I picked up these books by Donita K. Paul: Dragonspell and Dragonquest. I liked the cover and I figured that since it had dragons, I'd like them. After all, that reasoning has worked for me in the past.

I just finished Dragonspell. It's not a thick book, only 300 plus pages, but it took me more than a week to finish. Lately I've been averaging 3 books a week, but I got stuck with Dragonspell.

It wasn't a difficult read at all, as far as the writing goes. The landscape was fairly interesting, filled with interesting races. I was glad that it didn't have the usual dwarves or elves. The dragons were interesting as well. They come in different shapes and sizes and capabilities.

It was going along well until it started preaching.

You'll recognize that the whole story wraps around the central theme of God and the God-send. You'll see a Jesus-character (Paladin) to whom the main characters pledge themselves in service. The God-Creator in the story is called Wulder, which was distracting for me because it sounded too much like Mulder.

It's not uncommon for stories to be patterned after (and used to promote) Christian beliefs. But, stories fail when writers are too caught up in their agenda.

The writing in Dragonspell could do with a bit more subtlety. It preaches Christian values in a very cliche manner. When talking about the greatness, the righteousness of Wulder, the writer forces the emotion on the reader, rather than gently leading you to feel something. Wulder and Paladin are the least developed characters in the book, too. All we know about them is that they're uhh great.

The writer relies on the fact that readers will recognize God and Christ in the characters and apply the real-world characterizations to the book. She forgets that her book is still a book, and all characterizations must be contained within. I mean, I know what Christ is like. But tell me what Paladin is like. Nevermind that you patterned Paladin after Christ. Don't cut corners now. And show, don't tell. It's such a cop-out.

And it's a major turn-off.

I rarely diss books because I'm really not hard to please. But, with Dragonspell, while reading it I kept thinking that I'd rather be reading something else.

Give me credit though. I did finish it, just to be fair.

Having said all that, I did like Gymn the little dragon and the concept of hiding a castle in a bird's feather. Pretty cool, that.

Labels: books

I've been thinking about LOTR a lot lately, I'm guessing it's because it's almost December. Most, if not all, of my rereadings of LOTR have always been in December. And of course, the LOTR films were always released in December, and since the last film, my Decembers haven't been the same.

Maybe i'll read Lord of the Rings again. I haven't gone to Middle-earth in a while...

---------

According to this email, Peter Jackson isn't being hired by New Line Cinema to direct The Hobbit. I myself don't agree with that decision because I've already come to appreciate how PJ visualizes Tolkien's world. And besides, it feels as though we (tolkien nuts) have gone through sooo much with PJ and his crew. Losing him now is a sad thing indeed.

Damn you, New Line!!! I'll still watch your film, but it better be good. If not, MAY YOU ALL BURN IN BALROG FIRE!

Labels: books, tolkien

We heard from a friend that this small bookstore called Libreria on Tomas Morato (near iBank) was having a clearing out sale, so lotuseater and I set aside time to visit it. Luckily, it's near my house. But it's far from lotuseater's. In fact, she doesn't like going to QC. But, if there's a book sale, she's there.

This hardcover beauty called The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch -- I've been seeing this on my Amazon recommendations page, and I remembered being interested in it. It had a nice compact feel to it and when i turned to the back cover, it read: "Warning: Not to be read after dark -- especially page 148." Oooohh.. I don't usually read overly scary stuff, but that warning made it delectably devilish! Sold!

I found a couple of books about dragons by Donita K. Paul. The cover art is beautiful so I decided to buy it. Like I mentioned in a recent entry, I do that a lot, judge books by their covers. And I am happy to say that it hasn't let me down yet!


I can't say that the titles themselves are imaginative, but the cover is beautiful and yes, it had the word dragon on it. I crossed my fingers, bought the two books and checked Amazon upon getting home. The two books got 4 and 5 stars respectively on Amazon. Whew! I'm guessing it might have a similar plot to Eragon and Eldest, but no matter. I'll just have to see when I finally read it.

When I'll get to read it is another matter. With my bookhunting sprees with lotuseater, my reading pile isn't getting any shorter.



And it appears that Dragonspell and Dragonquest have a third book. Surprise surprise. Well, one can't have too many dragon tales ;-)

I've just finished rereading Eragon, and I've finally finished Eldest. I shall talk about them another time. Right now, I'm reading The Sign of the Qin. Pretty interesting book. Oriental fantasy (with a dragon, also, an oriental one hehe) -- a very interesting read it's turning out to be.

What are you reading now? =)

Labels: books

Been staying home for the past couple of days.

Wrote scripts and read books. I finished two episodes worth of scripts.

I also finished the last book of Earthsea (The Other Wind) and I loved it. My main complaint about the Earthsea novels, especially books 2, 3, and 4, is that they seem to drag o