that's me

If only all bus stops are like this...

Source: weheartit.com

STILL the Word's Number 1 Best-selling Book

Dewey the Library Cat

I'm currently reading this book (along with 2 other books) about the famous, cute and adorable, Spencer Library cat, Dewey. His full name is actually Dewey Readmore Books.

Don't you just love how handsome he looks in this photo?

While I'm reading this book, I couldn't help wishing to have my own cat as well. Dewey is the second animal character that made me cry. 

For more info about Dewey, visit their website. www.deweyreadmorebooks.com

From the Library

I was so excited to borrow books. Then my excitement was dampened when they told me I could only borrow up to 3 books.. T_T

Anyway, I got these three books to feast this week.

 

Of Chocolate, Balloons and the Great Divorce

It's been a while since I last visited the library. So today, after mailing the book requested by a fellow Bookmoocher, I decided to dropped by the library. I was surprised to see new books. Most of them are books that I've been wanting to read. 

1. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

2. Up by Disney Pixar

3. Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith

I'm not in the mood of reading long pages now. I chose this three short-reads for our trip on Sunday. Just to have something to read while traveling. This three books are just perfect companions for my trip!

Meeting Mr. Roald Dahl, Hope for the Flowers and Mango Street

I visited my favorite library today and I decided to read children's book for a change. ^^*

 While I was reading, I was thinking why I didn't have these books when I was young and starting to love reading? But then again, it's never too late, right? 

From the Library:

The first Roald Dahl's book I read

My 2nd book by Roald Dahl

I was amused and delighted reading this cute book.

Bookmooch #6 - Angela's Ashes

And so this week ends with a little adrenalin rush hangover. I got 3 books from 3 different countries in one day!

After giving away the first copy from Turkey, I got my own copy again. This time from Romania.

 Foxe's Book of Martyrs by John Foxe from Florida, USA and Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom from Greece.

You are what you EAT. You are what you READ.

You are what you EAT. You are what you READ.

Overwhelming Reads this Week

For this week's books from the library, I got these...

1. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. I randomly picked up this book out of impulse. Never heard of the author nor the book.

2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. "I've got to have or read this book." That's what I said to myself the first time I saw this book.

3. George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl. Another book from the author whose books I wanted to collect.

Books-Turned-to-Movies

One thing I could do all day and even all night long is reading a really, really great book. So great that you just couldn't put it down.

It was only these past few years that I became aware that most movies made by Hollywood, if not all of them, were from books. That is because I didn't have 24/7 Internet connection then. So when I want to read books I would just borrow from the library. If I want to buy books, I would go to the nearest National Bookstore of PCBS (Philippine Christian Bookstore). The only time I would know if the movie is adapted from a book is when the movie itself would say so or when someone else tells me. Otherwise, I am totally clueless.

For some, watching the story is more convenient than reading it. It saves them quite an amount of time and cost less. Why spend hours, days or even weeks reading when you can watch it in more or less than 2 hours?

Others, prefer to read the book. They enjoy the wonder and fulfillment of reading than watching the movie version. In my case, If I've already seen the movie, I lose interest in reading the book. I'm kinda lazy to read the book because I already know the story. The mystery and anticipation isn't enough to motivate me to read it. But, If I've already read the book, I could still watch the movie, to see how Hollywood makes the story alive in the big screen.

While others prefer to do both.


Here are but a few of the millions of books-turned-to-movies:

Underground Foreigner's Bookstore in Korea

I finally got to visit the Underground Foreigner's Bookstore in the underground shopping center in City Hall. I've been wanting to go there but my time schedule won't permit. 

The bookstore specializes in used foreign books. The owner is very kind and can speak English well, so I didn't have hard time communicating with him. 

I was so thrilled to be surrounded with so many books!!! Since I'm in a little hurry, (need to go home before sunset) I didn't have enough time to look through all the books. In the mean time, I got these 4 books.

1. Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
2. Vinegar on the Cross by Terry Stocker
3. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Nazi Germany by Robert Smith Thompson
4. The Finishing Touch by Charles R. Swindoll (The owner recommended this book and gave me a very low price because of the torn cover)

Book Cover-Inspired Bikinis

 

I'm into books, but not into bikinis.^^* But this one is too sexy and quite interesting not to find a place in my blog. I found this website called, MATCHBOOK via fellow book blogger. Click the link to see more.

Book-Inspired Bikinis or Bikini-Inspired books?  hmmm...see for yourself.

Penny Colman - My First Author Interview

This is my first author interview.

Thanks to Penny Colman for taking time to answer these questions. A big thanks also to her publisher for introducing me to this wonderful book released in May 10, 2011.

1. What is your motivation in writing a book? 
My motivation was to tell the true story of two fascinating women and their legendary friendship in the service of a great cause--the fight for women's rights.

2. How personal is your writing?
It's personal in the sense that I, too, am committed to the struggle for women's rights around the world.

3. What is your favorite part of the story? 
My favorite part is the friendship between Elizabeth and Susan.

4. What message in your book that you want readers to grasp? 
As always, I want readers to grasp what is important to them, which in this particular book can be insights about friendships, about activism, about tactics and strategies, and about moving forward in the face of great obstacles. 

5. Who designed the covers? Do you tell the designer how to do the covers? 
Meredith Pratt designed the cover for Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony: A Friendship That Changed the World.  Meredith also designed the covers of my other book published by Henry Holt: Corpses, Coffins and Crypts: A History of Burial (1997 Meredith was then Meredith Baldwin); Adventurous Women: Eight True Stories About Women Who Made A Difference (2002); Thanksgiving: The True Story (2006). No, I don't tell the designer how to do the cover. 

Serious Reading Mode Activated

These are my borrowed books for today^^*

1. Hitler's Pope by John Cornwell

2. Last Words of Saints and Sinners by Herbert Lockyer

3. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

4. This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitin

Hiroshima by John Hersey & Foreign Bookstore

Not much this week, but I'm happy to have great books.

Borrowed from a friend.

 This one is a good follow-up for the book I'm currently reading, "Hiroshima Notes."

It took me almost an hour to find this Foreigner's Bookstore at Itaewon. I saw the bookstore online and decided to check it out.  It was really nice! There are a lot of selections to choose from and the books are well arranged for easy browsing. Expect to pay at least 5000-7000Won for a really good quality used books.

 

Bought: I got this two...

 This one is a bit too much for my budget, but I couldn't resist the temptation! ^_^ 

Finally! I got myself a new Bible! It's a bit of a challenge to find King James Version here in Korea. Most of them sell New International Version. I got this one in a much cheaper price and it includes a concordance, which is so important for my Bible Study.

How to get to the Foreigner's Bookstore.

Subway Line 6, Noksapyeong, Exit #2. Across the street, right beside Italiano Restaurant.

Bookmooch #5 - Dead Sea Scrolls Speak

Another book from Bookmooch. This was from a generous giver from Singapore. When I saw this book, I just couldn't let it pass. Even though it 's old, I still like it^^*

Happy National Book Week

This is my first time to do this...I think this would be fun! Here's how it is done.

It's National Book Week. the rules are: Grab the nearest book to you. Turn to page 56. Copy the 5Th sentence. Don't mention the book.

The two of us fall silent and look down at the seven rivers under a sea of clouds.

Now, let's share this to all book bloggers and lovers.
Happy  National Book Week...Bookworms!!!

Bookmooch #4 - White Day Under the Tuscan Sun

Korea celebrated their own version of Valentines' Day. They call it White Day. Men are to give the women chocolates or candies. 

While most women are enjoying their chocolates and candies, I'm enjoying my another book via Bookmooch, all the way from Singapore.

BONUS: Today is White Day in Korea. The time of the year where people give each other chocolates or other sweets. I got a Ghana chocolate from one of the church deacons and candies from our new Pastor.

Teaser Tuesday (2)

It’s that time of week again for Should Be Reading’s fun meme Teaser Tuesdays.
So how does this work:

• Grab your current book
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

  She quickly responded with "Engaged is not married. You will never know until you try." ...and even though I had never taken the first move, I knew I would always regret it if I didn't with this one.

  p. 79, My Billion Year Contract by Nancy Many

The Help

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam (February 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399155341
• ISBN-13: 978-0399155345
• Genre: Fiction
• Days spent reading: 9

Synopsis

The Help is about a young white woman in the early 1960s in Mississippi who becomes interested in the plight of the black ladies' maids that every family has working for them. She writes their stories about mistreatment, abuse and heartbreaks of working in white families' homes, all just before the Civil Rights revolution. 

I've been reading serious stuff  this past few days. So, I opted to read something light this time. The first novel I've read for this year. I like the cover. Borrowed from a friend who said that she couldn't put the book down. Well, I've been wanting to read this so I put aside other books on queue to give way for this one. 

Sure enough, I liked the story and the characters. It was kinda funny at first, because I was reading the words in such a way like I'm talking the way they do.You know how Southerners speak, right? It took me a while to read normally. 

All the way to the last pages, I just couldn't put the book down. I want to know what would happen next. Especially to Minny, how I enjoyed her experiences and laugh at her sass-mouthing. I admire Aibeleen's dealings with things and people. I could almost see myself in Skeeter. We both want to find our place in this world. While reading about the disastrous first date of Skeeter and Stuart, I could already tell that that is not their last meeting. Their love story is quite predictable. Sad to say, but I think Stuart needs to be a more principled man.


The ending left me to think what would happen. I got some happy endings, though. How I wish they would make this into a movie. I would love to watch it!

I found out that this book has another cover design

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (November 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486419312
• ISBN-13: 978-048641931

From Library Journal  
Published in 1861, this was one of the first personal narratives by a slave and one of the few written by a woman. Jacobs (1813-97) was a slave in North Carolina and suffered terribly, along with her family, at the hands of a ruthless owner. She made several failed attempts to escape before successfully making her way North, though it took years of hiding and slow progress. Eventually, she was reunited with her children. For all biography and history collections.

Aside from books about holocaust, crime scene investigation, and nonfiction religious books, slavery is another theme that I find myself attracted to read.  This book described vividly some of the atrocities and injustices slaves had suffered in the hands of slaveholders. While reading this book, I am much in gratitude that such kind of slavery is abolished.  I could feel the main character’s strong desire to obtain her freedom and of her children. Any person would sympathize with her agonies, as a mother, daughter, sister and as a woman. I can’t imagine myself living in that period.

I admired Jacobs, for her character and her determination to educate and improve herself in spite of her background. Her strong faith in God is also worth noting. You will in no wise ignore how her faith has led her through the most trying and heart-wretching moments of her life.

I’m not much knowledgable about slavery way back  in the 1800s, but by reading this book, I am glad that it is now a thing in the past and hope not to be repeated in the future.

Bookmooch #3 -I Almost Die of Happiness

Another happy week! I'm always happy and excited whenever I see a package lying on my desk. This time, I received books in two days. I got these books from a fellow Bookmoocher from the Philippines and in the US.

I blurred the address for safety reasons, you know!:-)

The 1st package I received (March 9) is from the Philippines. I waited for this book for quite some time, so I'm grateful that it finally arrived. I mooched this book for one of the reading challenges I'm doing this year.

Look what I got! No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

 

I got a card (with Emilio Aguinaldo on the cover), a bookmark, a post card and stationeries.

I'm not sure if this post card is old or made to look old, but I like it!

Thanks to this wonderful lady, she gave me an idea. From now on, whenever I'll send books I'll include some stuffs for them made in Korea. :-)

Still waiting for some packages to arrived, hopefully this month.:-)

Can't wait to finish the book I'm reading now so I could start with another one from my TBRs.

The 2nd package (March 10) is from the US. 

The famous and controversial Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Although I prefer to read non-fiction, this book has caught my interest so much that I couldn't let it pass unread. Thanks to Bookmooch, I got this copy for free.

The Aquariums of Pyongyang Book Review

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (August 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465011047
• ISBN-13: 978-0465011049
• Genre: Non-fiction
• Days spent reading: 10

From Publishers Weekly

North Korea is among the most opaque nations on earth, its regime noted for repression and for the personality cult of its father and son leaders, the late Kim Il Sung and his successor, Kim Jong Il. Kang Chol-hwan draws from firsthand experience in explaining the repression. After the division of North and South Korea, Kang's family returned to North Korea from Japan, where his grandparents had emigrated in the 1930s and where his grandfather had amassed a fortune and his grandmother became a committed Communist. They were fired with idealism and committed to building an Edenic nation. Instead, the family was removed without trial to a remote concentration camp, apparently because the grandfather was suspected of counter-revolutionary tendencies. Kang Chol-hwan was nine years old when imprisoned at the Yodok camp in 1977. Over the next ten years, he endured inhumane conditions and deprivations, including an inadequate diet (supplemented by frogs and rats), regular beatings, humiliations and hard labor. Inexplicably released in 1987, the author states that the only lesson his imprisonment had "pounded into me was about man's limitless capacity to be vicious."- Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

The book caught my interest.  I borrowed it from a friend and I was excited to read it. While reading this book, I can't help but think that the experience is somehow similar to Holocaust. The concentration camps, starvation, executions, brainwashing, and sanitation that's below par.

The situation is truly heart-wrenching. But I don't feel that much pain in the author's situation. Not because they didn't suffer much, but because they are more privilege than other North Koreans. They're a well-to-do family and they were supported by their rich relatives in Japan. Add to that, the influence and high educational attainment they had prior to imprisonment, which helped them to be in good terms with the authorities.

What breaks my heart most is the bitter resentment of the author's grandmother. I got a lot thinking about her.She truly believed that they will have a bright and prosperous future in North Korea. She only wanted to help her family. She convinced her husband and children to live in North Korea. Only to be confronted with lies and pretensions. She kept blaming herself for causing here family to suffer and even death.

Sometimes, we are also in a similar situations.We are looking forward to a bright and prosperous future. Every problems we have will be solved and it will be like living in paradise. Only to find out that if offers the opposite. Worse, there is NO TURNING BACK!

Whatthebook!

So happy today! The book I ordered has arrived. The moment I saw the label on the box that says, "Books and Magazines" I knew right away that it's for me.

Whatthebook is one of the few English bookstores here in Korea where I love to buy books. The store sells used books for up to half the original price. I got some books on my wish list. Here's what I got today.

1. Hiroshima by Kenzaburo Oe

2. 10 Days to Faster Reading by The Princeton Language Institute 

and Abby Marks-Beale