New book...

Today was a really slow day.

When I checked my lessons schedule for today a few days ago, I had six sehceduled for today. When I checked my schedule again last night, I was down to three. Haha!

Again, I'm guessing it has something to do with the oliday.

No worries. I didn't stress over it because seriously, what can I do? There's a phrase the Japanese use for such situations. Shouganai (しょうがない) means "It can't be helped" or "Nothing can be done"

With several breaks in between my lessons, I decided to head to the nearby Maruzen and do something I had not done in such a long time - buy a paperback. Lol. I've been so used to reading via Kindle so I dunno why I decided to get a paperback again.

I got Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies. I enjoyed the HBO miniseries very much so I'm curious to read the book.

So far, I got to finish 100 pages in two (or three?) hours. It is a page-turner.

Perhaps because I was in love with the miniseries. I dunno. Haha!

Currently re-reading TBLBITW...

I'm currently re-reading Andrew Tobias' The Best Little Boy in the World..

If there's one book that really influenced me during that period when I was asking myself a lot of things, it has to be this book.

On my last visit to Manila, I brought back with me some books that I love and one of them is TBLBITW.

The book has been with me for more than a decade. If I'm not mistaken, I found it buried in one of the bargain bins of National Bookstore Robinson's Manila. It was an afternoon. I had time to kill. One of my favorite past time activities is to go book hunting. Voila! I found the book.

Until now, I believe that the book was meant to find me and I was meant to find it. Hehe!

With no new titles to read, I decided why not re-read it again?

Nice quote from TKAMB...

Last Sunday, I finished the last few pages of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.

It was an easy read filled with simple life lessons that are worth abiding to for an entire life.

The book first came into my radar back in university. I was a sophomore then. One of my professor friends told me I should ready Harper Lee's work. Hmm, I'm wondering now why it took me this long to pick up the book and start reading it.

It had to take a recent news article that a sequel to the book will be released later this year for me to be pushed to get started with the book.

Well, I'm actually glad I finally got to read it.

It may have been published in 1960, but the values to be picked up from the book are still relevant until today and I daresay, will continue to be relevant in the next 100 years.

Above is one of the quotes that I like from the book.

I firmly believe in this quote. When I was fresh out of university, I handled a volunteer program whereby students were sent to far-flung areas in the Philippines. The students would stay with a host family for two to three weeks. The aim of the program was simple: live the way of life of the host family/community.

Prior to deployment, I had to go visit the communities/families, as well as our local partner group, and assess their readiness to adopt the students. Most communities took a whole day's journey on rough roads and the most uncomfortable modes of transportation. In some cases, it even involved a hike, crossing streams/rivers, and so on. Naturally, there was no electricity. There was no Internet. The mobile phone signal comes and goes.

In these areas, far from the four walls of the university, were life lessons waiting to be learned.

The most basic of these is this: for one to be able to better serve others, one needs to understand how their way of life is. This completely echoes Atticus Finch's words in Harper Lee's work, doesn't it?

Years after I've left that volunteer management work, up until today, I still believe in that premise that putting oneself in another person's shoes is one of the best ways to understand that person.

Think about it for a moment. One will understand why.

On another note, I'm glad that I finished a second book for 2015. I should start on a new book for March. Hmm, which title to read, eh?

Birthday month 30-day writing challenge: Day 7....

Today's writing challenge is one subject I've written about repeatedly - books.

The question for today is "Do you read? What are your favourite books?"

A few weeks ago, a friend tagged me to write bout ten favourite books. It was a difficult task but I was able to do it.

The list can be found here.

For this post, I'm not going to write about my favourite books. Instead, I'll just write a little about how I became a book fan and what my favourites are so far.

Two people who influenced me a lot in falling in love with the written world were my Lola Chimang and Tita Rosie. The former was the mom of my late father, while the latter was my late father's late eldest sister. Both my Lola Chimang and my Tita Rosie were teachers. Lola taught at a primary school in Manila, while Tita Rosie taught at my own university, the Ateneo de Manila University and I'm not sure in which school/university in Boston when she moved there with her American husband, Uncle Roger.

It was them who encouraged me, as well as my younger brother Raymond and our cousins, to read, read, ready. My Lola had huge collection of Mills & Boon titles, while Tita Rosie was always reading some book, too.

Then, of course, in primary school at my beloved Lourdes School, we had a Reading class. The Language lessons were different from the Reading lessons. I spent a good deal of my primary school years reading, reading, reading. Haha!

Also, I'm lucky to be surrounded by friends who liked to read. When I was still in Primary 6, a fellow altar boy who was a few years older than me introduced me to some good Filipino authors - Lualhati Bautista and Tony Perez. The latter got me into trouble with my mom because of the book Cubao 1980. I regret tearing the book to pieces after my mom saw my copy of the book. :-/

Saveral years later, I would discover the wonderful genre of LGBT fiction. My favourite authors are Andrew Tobias, Alex Sanchez, Michael Thomas Ford, Timothy James Beck, Noel Alumit, Jay Bell, to name a few. I also became addicted to other genres. I realise that I have a thing for books that are part of a series. Perhaps because it eliminates the need to think of what book to read next. Haha!

Recently, I've also been putting some of my hard earned cash into coffee table books. In particular, I've been buying hardbound books on fashion. Haha! If you have the books, the condo with a library/reading room will come? Haha! Thankfully, I discovered Book Depository and the used books shops at Bras Basah Complex. Both are pieces of heaven to any book lover.

Just how much do I love books? I'm willing to sacrifice a good meal, in order to add to my book fund. Hahaha! I still have a few titles I want to buy - Tom Ford, The Little Black Jacket, among others.

Soon...

Random blah about TMR...

I'm currently reading James Dashner's The Maze Runner.

Compared to Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch, TMR is an extremely easy read.

Perhaps because it is meant for a younger crowd. Perhaps because the author does not use words like "censorious," "trepidation," "redolent," "supercilious," "bilious," "crackerjack," and so on. Haha! Perhaps because the story flows very well.

On a side note, I do like it when I encounter words I don't use in my ordinary conversations. The good thing about the Kindle is that I can highlight the word and bookmark it. What would be even better is for me to write down all these new words in a notebook. I ought to include it in my daily convos I suppose. Haha!

Going back to the book, I was able to cover 80% in a matter of 4 days. I can't even write how long it took me to cover a quarter of The Goldfinch. Haha!

It's a good thing that I decided to start reading TMR after The Goldfinch. The former serves as a good break before I read another Dickensian work like The Goldfinch. Haha!

One more good thing about TMR is that it is part of a trilogy with a prequel. Hence, the need need to think about what book to read next is swiftly eliminated. Haha!

How faithful was the movie to the book? Hmm, I would say that the movie has significant differences compared to the book. The basic storyline is there. The execution is highly different. I am glad that I am reading the book now. It allows me to pinpoint the differences between the movie storyline and the book storyline.

The recent trilogies I have read are The Hunger Games, Divergent and now, The Maze Runner. First place goes to The Hunger Games, obviously. In terms of good book and good movie, it would have to go to The Maze Runner. That leaves the third place to Divergent. I enjoyed the movie very much. I couldn't say the same about the books. In particular, Insurgent was an excruciating read. Haha!

Thankfully, I'm done with the series. Thankfully, TMR is turning out to be much better. Let's see how the second and third book, as well as the prequel, are.

Ten Books...

It looks like there's a new meme going around on Facebook. Haha! I remember there was a time when people were using the Notes feature a lot, answering all these memes and tagging friends.

On my way to work this morning, I was reading my FB notifications and I saw that my friend Noreen tagged me in a post.

The rule of the meme is simple. List down 10 books that have had an effect on your life (or something like that). Tag It's not a very easy task for me as I have a lot of favourite books. Haha! What I did was to recall those titles that have really left a lasting impression on me.

In no particular order, here are my 10 books:



The Best Little Boy in the World - Andrew Tobias



Rainbow Boys - Alex Sanchez



Cubao 1980 - Tony Perez



Bata, Bata Pano Ka Ginawa - Lualhati Bautista



The Way - Josemaria Escriva



Grace: A Memoir - Grace Coddington



Last Summer - Michael Thomas Ford



Elements of Style - Strunk and White



Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis



The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon

Found at a used books shop...

After going to the Annie Leibovitz exhibit, I decided to go to Bras Basah complex to visit one of the used books shops.

With time to kill before going to Mass, I figured I can go and take a look around the shop and see if there are any new books worth getting.

I like that book shop because I once found several good buys. I was able to get an Alexander Mcqueen Savage Beauty in mint condition for half the price that it was being sold at Kinokuniya. I also found Dolce & Gabanna, Versace, Manolo Blahnik coffee books then but I just decided on getting the Mcqueen book.

Yesterday, the treasures I stumbled upon were mostly art books. Tipz went with me and he found a Botero coffee table book that was in a very good condition. If I remember correctly, it was still sealed. There were also titles on Gauguin, Monet, the Impressionists, Chinese and Japanese artists, several Christie's and Sotheby's catalogues.

I was looking for either another fashion coffee table book or one particular art book A Life of Collecting: Victor and Sally Ganz. I don't think it's available at Kino since it was published quite some time back. I would like to get a copy of the book because it is dedicated to a couple who collated art for the love of it, not for investment. What was also interesting about the Ganz's is the fact that they were a middle-class couple. They weren't a business tycoon or heirs to multi-billion dollar companies. They were regular people who happened to love art very much.

No luck in finding the book though. However, I did find a Rijksmuseum book. Haha! And it was only $9.90. It was still in a good condition. I decided to buy the book and add it to the very few souvenirs I got from my Europe trip.

Will definitely go back to that shop. Maybe next time the Victor and Sally Ganz book will be there.

A nation's biography and a woman's memoir...

History is the current theme of the titles that I've just read and started reading. Hehe!

As part of my training for the museum guiding activity at the National Museum of Singapore, I picked up a copy of Mark Frosts's and Yu-Mei Blasaingamchow's Singapore: A Biography.

I've just finished the book and I'm quite confident that I've picked up the key events and personalities that any museum guide should at least know.

Also, the book gave me a much better understanding of the country that adopted me. When I learned that I got the job in Singapore, I told myself that one thing I was really going to do when I get here is to immerse myself in the local culture, to learn about the local way of life.

This thinking I suppose stems from the years I was volunteering/working with the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod (the volunteer program of the University of the Philippines). One of the programs I handled was the Summer Immersion Service Program. Every summer, a group of students would be deployed to very remote areas around the country where they are to stay for about three weeks. The aim really of the program is for the students to see that there is something happening outside of the classroom and that there is a need to do something, especially that we belong to the country's premiere state university.

That kind of "learning" was the reason why I really wanted to be involved in different activities while living in Singapore. Believe it or not, I hardly get bored when I'm in Singapore. There are quite a number of things to do around the island. Having lived here for two years (and I'm hoping it will be for several more years), one thing I would like to do really is to show visiting friends that there is so much more to Singapore than Orchard Road. Hehe!

Anyway, the topic deserve a post on its own. I'm going back to the book. What I really loved about the book is that it introduced me to personalities that not too many people know about I guess. We're talking about individuals who don't get to be in the same spotlight that is given to Raffles. People like William Farquhar (who I generally liked very much more than Raffles), Elizabeth Choy, Mamoru Shinozaki, David Marshall, Constance Goh, Mrs. Siraj, May Wong (as in May Wong bar at Neil Road! Haha!), even the rickshaw pullers, the coolies, the convicts, the amahs, the samsui women, and so on.

In a way, reading the book also allowed me to look for parallel histories between Singapore and the Philippines. Hmm, to a certain extent, I think this is one thing I will be able to offer museum visitors when I become an official museum guide. I can relate Singapore history to the histories of neighbouring countries.

Singapore: A Biography is certainly going to help me do that as it is my bible on local history. Hehe!

Meanwhile, the other book is the memoir written by Grace Coddington. In the first few pages of the book, Grace wrote that people only learned of her or became more interested in her after she was featured in the documentary The September Issue.

Grace, I know you won't get to read this, but I want you to know that I have known about you long before The September Issue. And even then, I was already a fan. Sally Singer was correct when she said you are one of the greatest living stylists ever. Because you really are. Period.

I think those who were mentored under her are very lucky. Hehe!

Anyway, I just started on the book. It's been with me since December 2012 (!!!). Haha! I kept on delaying because I didn't want to take out of it's plastic wrapping. Hehe!

What I wouldn't give for the book to be signed by Grace Coddington.

More on the book after I finish it.

What book are you currently reading?

Titles to read for early 2011...

Look what's happily piled on the side of my bed and waiting to be read. Haha!

These will keep me busy when I get home in the evening from work this coming first quarter of 2011. Yey! :)

I just finished Michael Thomas Ford's The Road Home, which Tey bought for me when she went to the US a couple of weeks ago. I didn't like it as much as the other four MTF titles I've read, but it's still going to my prized books list. Before that, I was reading Mineko Iwasaki's Geisha, a Life. The book/autobiography gives the reader a wonderful peek into the world of maikos and geishas. Beautiful book.

As you can see, I have another MTF title waiting to be read. I just dunno if I should already start on that, or if I should choose another title.

The Maupin was a fantab buy because I got it at Fully Booked at a really, really cheap price. Haha! Found it in the bargain bin. It's in very good condition though.

The Kabul Beauty School caught my attention because I remember reading in a previous issue of US Vogue the story of a woman who went to Afghanistan to teach hair and makeup to the local women. It should be an interesting read. (See, I can go beyond Kinsella and Weisenberger chick lit. Haha!)

Meanwhile, Alek was meant for me. I've been looking for the book for the longest time and I stumbled upon the copy above when I went to Bibliarch just last week to get presents for the barkadings. Alek is the story of Sudanese refugee turned international supermodel Alek Wek. Again, this should be an interesting read.

Bringing Home the Birkin is something I've had for so long. Bought it at Fully Booked in Gateway ages ago. I just still haven't found the time to read it because Angelina Jolie's Notes from My Travels and Dana Thomas's Deluxe caught my interest more. Hehe! Promise to read Tonello's book this 2011.

Lastly, the Mitch Albom and the Khaled Hosseini titles are gifts from my Twitter friend/running-muay thai friend Jamie. He was so generous to give away several titles a couple of weeks ago, and I'm just so happy that I bagged the said titles.

So these are the titles on my to-read list this coming early 2011. Excited. How about you? What's on your to-read list?

Oliver Button is a sissy...

Check out this book I stumbled upon at… you wouldn't believe it… the library of a public elementary school in a barangay in Cebu.

I was at the province recently for a day to do some interviews, photo and video shoot at three public schools.

The shoot was held at the schools' libraries. On our visit to the second school, I was looking around the books in the library while my photo and video guys did their work.

I was just browsing the shelves, not touching anything, when this particular book caught my attention. Hehe!

Oliver Button is a Sissy. By Tomie de Paola

Out of curiosity, I picked up a book and browsed through it.

I couldn't believe what I was reading. Hehe! Uhm, it wasn't because there was anything wrong with it. It just wasn't the kind of book I expected to find at a library… of a public elementary school… in a barangay.

Here was a book that could've been useful to me when I was still in an all-boys elementary school. (Ugh, memories of basketball (failing at it and at other things usual boys have no trouble doing)). Hehe! The key message of the book was very simple - It's okay to be different. The illustrations were wonderful. The story, though a bit harsh, was definitely next to real.

I was more than happy to have found the book. And I'm really hoping that some kids who "needed" the book have actually found the book and read it…

because I asked the principal if I could buy the book.

Yeah, that's how desperate I was to get the book. Hehe! Of course, despite my insistence to pay for the book, the principal was more insistent that I keep it.

Yey!

Of course, when I showed the book to some friends to say how awesome it was that a book like that existed, I got a bit reprimanded for getting book from the school.

That's because some little boy who would probably have better use of the book than some thirty-year old bloke who's already okay with who he is. Hehehe!

But no, I had to get the book, didn't I? Hehe!

Okay, here's what I'll do to make up for what I did.

I will scan all the pages, make it into a PDF and then upload it online.

I'm sure I'll be violating some copyright/distribution ekers but I had to do something. Hehe!

30-Day Tumblr Challenge: Day 4 - Your favorite book: The Best Little Boy in the World

I have a lot of favorite books. Most of these would fall under one of these two categories - a.) chick lit or b.) queer fic. Haha!

Though there are several titles in my collection that I can read over and over again, I guess my favorite has to be Andrew Tobias' The Best Little Boy in the World.

I found the book at a time when I was having questions about myself. Things were difficult back then. I knew who I was. Several people were telling me not to be who I really am. I was told, "Being who you are is okay. But you should control it. It's a sacrifice. One that you must carry for a long time." That made things more difficult, obviously.

And then one afternoon, I was browsing through the sale bin of National Book Store Robinson's Manila when I stumbled upon this book. It was hidden in a deep corner of the book bin. For one to have found it, he really has to sit and go through all the titles.

After reading the first few pages, I knew I had to get it. Here was the story of a guy from the other side of the world. His story was somewhat similar to what I was going through back then. But the best part is that he was already past the dilemma I was in, and he came out (pardon the pun) of it triumphantly. Surely, I was to learn something from this guy who had to write under a pseudonym when the book was first published in the 1970s for fear of the same things I feared.

And I did learn. Quite a lot, I have to say.

But if I had to sum it up in a couple of sentences. I learned that I was going to be okay, that I have nothing to worry about, and that no matter what, I could still be the best little boy in the world.

Thank you, Andy Tobias.

I love NBS...

It's sale season again at National Bookstore, and I can't wait for next payday because I already have found a number of books I will buy. Eeeep!!! But the good thing is I checked out the books I plan to get and most of them are 40% off, so I guess that's good. (Because now I can buy more books. Hehehe! No!)

See the photo above. That's from the NBS in Robinson's Galleria. And that's the reason why I love National Bookstore has become a favorite when it comes to LGBT titles. They really have a shelf for it. Favorite authors Timothy James Beck, Michael Thomas Ford, David Stukas can be found on the shelves. Powerbooks does carry some LGBT titles, although the selection is very limited. Now, Fully Booked, I would have expected to have one, but I'm still not sure if they do. (I have yet to check out the Fort Bonifacio branch.) I remember I dared email Jaime Daez giving him a list of LGBT titles they can start with, and why those are the titles I recommended, but I don't know whatever happened to that email. I'm not even sure if reached him. Anyway.

Carlo told me about Bestsellers at the fourth level of Galleria. I think it was where Limits used to be. Anyway, I checked it out last Friday and it is total heaven for people who are in love with the written world. It's spacious and the lighting was good and you good spend several hours just going through their book selection. I was about to get six books, but after a serious debate with myself, I decided to put them down and get out of the place before I change my mind again. I promised I would go back there sometime next week to get the books. Hehehe!

If I had the resources, I'd start my own bookstore. But it would be a specialty bookstore, perhaps something like Borders or A Different Light bookstore. The bookstore would carry 80% LGBT titles and 20% chick lit-home-fashion-art titles. It would be small (think Hugh Grant's bookstore in Notting Hill) and the people who work in it can actually answer the customer's queries. They'll be there because they love books, and not really because they need something to pay the bills. (Or maybe both). Every month, we'll have a guest author do book readings and signings (and because the bookstore is doing well, we can fly in authors from abroad like Alex Sanchez or Noel Alumit). There'll be writing workshops with noted literary people. Coffee may be served. And in the storage room, there'll be hot men raring for some action. (Alright, that last sentence was a joke.)

I wonder what a good name for a bookstore would be - Margins... The Pink Room... Page 69... Odd Room... Happy Bookstore... Backdoor... Gray Area... Red Light... Happy Homo... The Queer Reader... okay, none of these seem right.