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 ...

I was having dinner with a friend a week ago when she asks me if I've seen Ruby Sparks , a romantic comedy-drama directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the same people behind Little Miss Sunshine . Unfortunately, I've watched neither, until I watched the first movie   his evening. Ruby Sparks , written by Zoe Kazan who doubles as the female lead, tells the story of Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano), a writer struggling to write a follow-up to his successful first novel. Calvin has no friends other than his dog Scotty and brother Harry (Chris Messina). He regularly sees a therapist named Dr. Rosenthal (Elliott Gould). The therapist recommends that Calvin could use Scotty as a reason to talk with women while they walked around the park. Unfortunately, Scotty is a very shy dog that women don't seem to like. Thus, Dr. Rosenthal tries something else. He gives Calvin an assignment: write about a woman in the park, a special woman who actually likes Scotty. Inspired b...

Author: Stephen King Title: Under the Dome  Place Published: New York, USA Publisher: Gallery Books, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Year Published: 2009 No. of Pages: 1072 Price: Php 546 Place Bought: Fully Booked Rockwell Synopsis Never before reading Under the Dome by Stephen King would I have believed that a used car salesman named Big Jim Rennie would make a good antagonist for a science-fiction, horror novel. He wasn't selling supernaturally monstrous vehicles or anything like that. He was just a terrifying human being with extraordinary ambitions for power and affluence. It's just another day in a small American town called Chester's Mill in Maine when an invisible barrier descended and separated the town from the rest of the world. The dome's appearance caused several death's in Chester's Mill, driving the remaining inhabitants into fear and chaos. Claudette Sanders, wife of the town's first selectman Andy Sanders, was t...

Author: Rachel Cohn and David Levithan Title:  Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Place Published:  New York, USA Publisher:  Ember, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, a Division of Random House, Inc. Year Published:  2006 No. of Pages:  183 Price:  Php 360.00  Place Bought:  Fully Booked, 2013 MIBF The Calm Before the Storm What would you do if some stranger in a club asks if you would be his girlfriend for the next five minutes? What do you think would happen if you said 'yes?' So begins the story Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Nick, a band member, lyricist, and generally nice guy, was dumped by his girlfriend, who he is still madly in love with. Norah, who recently broke up with her boyfriend, is still recovering.  The two meet each other at a club. Nick's in a panic because he sees his ex-girlfriend approaching the bar. He sees Norah and asks her if she would be his girlfriend for the next five minutes. No...

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 ...

As part of the POPtastik Pinoy! program of activities held in celebration of Text in the City: The 4th Philippine International Literary Festival , Ayala Museum will hold City Fiction 100 , a flash fiction masterclass, on November 15, 1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m. This workshop is open to professional and budding writers of all ages. Participants will get feedback from acclaimed writers Sarge Lacuesta and Krys Lee , and the country's first literary agent Andrea Pasion-Flores , with travel writer Kristine Fonacier as moderator. Korean-American writer Krys Lee is our special guest for this year's LitFest. She will be discussing and launching her book Drifting House on the morning of November 15. She will also join the City Fiction 100 panel in the afternoon. The goal is simple: in 100 words or less, write about a city, real or imagined. More than a dozen people have already submitted their works of flash fiction, less than a week after the masterclass was announced! ...

Filipino writers will discuss folk and popular literature as shown in komiks, TV, and film as the National Book Development Board ( NBDB ), Filipinas Heritage Library ( FHL ), and Ayala Museum hold POPtastik Pinoy! this November. P leas e click to enlarge poster. The event is part of the 4th Philippine International Literary Festival. Titled Text and the City , the LitFest will take place in the major universities in Metro Manila from November 11-14 and at the Ayala Museum on November 15, from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The Lit Fest will feature local and regional writers. Xu Xi, Hong Kong-based writer of Access: Thirteen Tales will speak in UST; Singapore-based writer Kamini Ramachandran and London’s Jasmine Anne Corray, writer of Everything We Don't Say will speak in DLSU; Peter Swirski, Canadian scholar, literary critic, and writer of From Highbrow to Nobrow will speak in ADMU; Singaporean Suchen Lim, author of The River's Song , will speak in UP; and American ...