Overbooked Reader

Author: Orson Scott Card Title: Ender’s Shadow Place Published: New York Publisher: Tor Science Fiction Year Published: 1999 No. of Pages: 467 Price: P360 Place Bought: Fully Booked Greenhills Promenade I read Ender’s Game back in September 2013, in anticipation of the book’s movie adaptation (which was alright, but paled in comparison to the book). I reviewed that Orson Scott Card science-fiction novel and gave it a perfect score.  While I enjoyed the novel immensely, I found that it left too many questions unanswered.  I wanted to know more about what happened behind the scenes in Battle School and the I.F.’s battle against the Formics. Ender Wiggin was mostly clueless on both accounts. That’s when Blooey, a fellow book blogger (and one of my favorites!), recommended that I read Ender’s Shadow as a companion guide to E nder’s Game . She added that the former was told from Bean’s point of view—and that she liked Bean better than Ender. [Click o...

Her (2013) is a 126-minute science-fiction-romance film that follows the success of writer-as-protagonist films like Stranger than Fiction (2006) and Ruby Sparks (2012). Written and directed by Spike Jonze ( Being John Malkovich , Adaptation ), the film takes a sincere and serious look at the nature of human relationships in a world set in the near future.  Joaquin Phoenix plays Theodore Twombly , a professional letter-writer who falls in love with an intelligent computer operating system called Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson ). For Samantha, the feeling is mutual. Theodore thinks he's found the perfect woman. However, he soon realizes that loving an OS can be as challenging as loving a real person. Supporting characters include Theodore's wife Catherine ( Rooney Mara ), who is asking her husband for a divorce; his friend Amy ( Amy Adams ), whose marriage in on the rocks; and a friend of a friend ( Olivia Wilde ) who goes out on a blind date with Theod...

Philippine contemporary romance author Mina V. Esguerra and her writer friends launched the first Luna East Arts Academy short story collection titled Kids These Days at Ayala Museum last February 8, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. This event, with more than 90 attendees, also doubled as the first year anniversary of Mina's Romance Class. Luna East front cover Kids These Days is a collection of 14 stories written and self-published by 14 Filipino writers. Together, they created the world of Luna East, a fictional high school where young adult and coming-of-age stories abound.  As stated in the book's back cover, all stories are set in an arts academy because the writers wanted everyone to have a talent, and know why. Because no one is ordinary, if you know them well enough. I love it! The writers of Luna East pose for photographs In addition to Mina, the other 13 writers are: Chrissie Peria, Mina V. Esguerra, Ronald S. Lim, Miles Tan, Athena Claire Dueñas, M. Prot...

Author: J.R.R. Tolkien Title: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring  Place Published: New York Publisher: Ballantine Books Year Published: 1965 No. of Pages: 458 Price: $6.99 Place Bought: n/a (Borrowed) If you asked a month ago what I thought of The Fellowship of the Ring , the first volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, I would have said it was extremely boring. I’ve tried reading the novel several times, but could never get past the chapters with Tom Bombadil and his poems.   I’ve made reading the LOTR trilogy a book resolution for 2014. After all, it’s widely known as the greatest fantasy epic of our time. So with a little encouragement from a colleague—and with the irrational belief that it would be easier to finish the novel if I read her copy of the book instead of mine—I set out on another journey through Middle-earth. Volume one chronicles the beginning of the War of the Ring. It starts with the hobbit Frodo Baggins coming i...

Author: Ransom Riggs Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Place Published: Philadelphia, USA Publisher: Quirk Books Year Published: 2011 No. of Pages: 348 Price: US$9.99 Place Bought: Fully Booked, Greenhills Promenade One of my greatest joys as a reader is buying a book solely based on it's front and back cover--on a whim that it'll be an awesome read--and realizing in the end that I was right. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children , a young adult novel written by writer and filmmaker Ransom Riggs, is one such book. His novel tells the story of Jacob, a sixteen-year-old who travels to an island off the coast of Wales, in search of the orphanage his Grandpa Portman grew up in. He is looking for closure, for answers about his grandfather's storied past, and whether or not his unbelievable stories are true. Jacob finds the orphanage lying in ruins. His search leads him to a collection of old photographs of the children his grandfathe...

Happy New Year, everyone! I just read a bunch of 2014 reading lists by other Filipino book bloggers, so I've decided to make my own. Here just 10 of the books I want to read by the end of the year: Me and my moldy hardbound copy of 1Q84 :) 1. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami I'm almost finished reading the first of three parts. I will finish reading the whole novel this year (Maybe this month, even), I promise! 2. It by Stephen King Another book I've had since forever, and really want to read, but have not read entirely yet. 3. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell I bought a copy of this from Fully Booked last December. Everyone seems to love it. I hope I will too. 4. The Lord of the Rings  trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien The first several times I tried reading The Fellowship of the Ring , I found it really boring [I'm sorry!]. I plan to have another go at it this year. 5. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin I've read half of this book. Then, I s...

Author: Chris Mariano Title: Cover (Story) Girl Place Published: Manila, Philippines Publisher: Christelle Rhodamae Mariano Year Published: 2013 No. of Pages: 131 Pages (Print Version) Price: US$0.99 Place Bought: Amazon Cover illustration and design by Miguel Calvan Chris Mariano, in her first self-published novella Cover (Story) Girl, shows how a Philippine-based koreanovela can be told well through the power of words.  Her story is set in Boracay, known for its white sand beaches and all-night parties. But this isn’t a story about clubbing, flings, and other typical Boracay stuff. Instead, it begins with Gio, head curator of his family-owned Boracay Heritage Museum.  Gio is busy preparing for an exhibition when a group of Korean tourists enter the museum for a photo shoot. Among them is a girl in blue: the pretty, pixie-like, and cream-skinned Jang Min Hee.  Gio finds her attractive, but is put-off by her prima donna attitude. He scolds her for moving ...