Overbooked Reader

I was working for the Filipinas Heritage Library back i n 2012, when the 2nd Filipino ReaderCon (filreadercon) was held there. A literary event catering to the growing community of Filipino readers, the filreadercon features numerous talks, book discussions, an awarding ceremony for Filipino authors, and a meet-and-greet for everyone at the end of the day. Unfortunately, I was part of the organizing committee back then, and wasn't able to attend all the talks and book discussions I wanted.  Fast forward to 2013, and the filreadercon was held at a new venue: the Rizal Library at Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU). I was excited to attend the 3rd Filipino ReaderCon with the theme What Do Readers Want? as a participant this time around. Besides being an avid reader, I also just started this book blog a few months back. Although the event was moved from November to December 7, 2013 because of a typhoon, the change in schedule didn't really bother me. I also wanted to see ...

Last Saturday, I attempted to leave three books-- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey (very used), Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (brand new), and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (brand new), but my plan was thwarted by the staff of Starbucks 515 Shaw. The photo's a bit glared, but here's where i was supposed to leave  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens That particular Starbucks being my second home ever since my college years (when it was still located in Lee Gardens a block away), I decided to ask the barista (whom I knew) for permission to leave the books on empty tables. He said 'yes,' but a few minutes later his superior said 'no.' She said I had to have permission from their head office prior to doing the book drop. I didn't want to argue, so I just let the issue go and sat down to read The Dome by Stephen King. John Green's The Fault in Our Stars is one of my favorite novels ...

The Books of My Childhood If there's one thing I like more than reading, it's playing video games (especially role-playing games), and that's what I spent most of my leisure time doing as a child. Of course, my parents, especially my mother, didn't want me glued to the PC monitor or TV screen all day, so she encouraged me to read books. She gave me all The Chronicles of Narnia novels by C.S. Lewis, of which I have only read Prince Caspian and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe , to this day. She also bought me several of Roald Dahl novels of which I remember reading Esio Trot , The BFG , and James and the Giant Peach . There were others, like Matilda and The Witches , which have lain dormant on my bookshelf form more than a decade. I also remember reading several Hardy Boys and combined Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew mysteries, with encouragement from my mother. My uncle gave me the first three X-Files novels , which I thought was really cool. Goosebumps a novel...

This is my first time to do a Filipino Friday post, ever! I'm so excited. For those who don't know what Filipino Friday is (like me, until recently)--"Filipino Friday is a meme series that encourages the participation of Filipino readers everywhere." - Source: Filipino ReaderCon Blog . Introductions, with a twist, is this Friday's theme. The question: "What Reader Species Are You?" based from this appropriately wordy and detailed infographic by Laura Kelly   (click to view full-sized image): Visit Laura-e-Kelly.com for more about books, reading, and authors. Reading the inforgraphic, I realize that I fit into a number of different species, like:  The Reluctant Reader I'm a reluctant reader because I only started to enjoy reading during first year high school. Josh, my best friend at the time, was an avid fan and reader of Stephen King. He got me curious, so I asked him what SK novel would be a good introduction to the master of...