E-Books: A New Way to Enjoy Reading

I HAVE a new hobby now. Aside from collecting books, I am now starting to collect e-books. My shelves are already piling up, so it’s about time to save space.

This started when Cors sent me e-books. I did not have time to read them because I was too busy and I can’t always take the laptop anywhere . But I jut couldn’t resist reading those e-books of the hype that goes around about the books. 

Read Maniac, a java application, helped solve my problem. I am now bringing along the e-books wherever I go. I just converted the e-books (originally in pdf) to html files, which Read Maniac can read. Whenever I’m travelling or in a long queue, I just take out my phone and listen to Stephanie Meyer and her Vamp stories.

However, there are some drawbacks. I have to keep scolling because my phone can only accommodate at most 11 lines of text. So I had to read about 6 thousand pages of text. But that’s fine with me. And of course, it doesn’t have the nostalgic aroma of paper and ink.

For those who can’t put down a book even while on the go, you can dowload e-books here:

• Free E-Books
• Planet PDF
• Ebooks.com
• Reading E-Books
• ZanyBooks.com

Have fun reading!

The Author That Frightened Us All Dies

HE GAVE the world the much celebrated Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, and ER. Now, I’m going to give him my humble tribute in this post.

The Eaters of the Dead  was my first Crichton. It was the novel that really made me hate him for what he did to me. But that was actually an appreciation of how convincing a writer he is. I appreciated him more in Congo, with which I can so relate–not because I have a Gorilla friend but because It deals with some physics and yes, it’s loaded with adventures.

I have so many attempts at writing the Crichton way but I just don’t have the skill. His is a unique talent that enabled him to come up with masterful novels that affected the lives of many.

To my dear friend, at least because he told me stories and took me to the land of the Norsemen and to Africa,  Michael Crichton, may you rest in peace. With the existence of a huge number of young writers you have inspired, rest assured, literature is in good hands.

Related Post Here

The Devil and Miss Prym by Paolo Coelho

BACK IN college, there was some sort of Paolo Coelho fever—at least within the walls of our organization’s office. Coelho was a hit because if you’re reading one, people would think you’re smart, or that you’re of the philosophical type. Well, I read Paolo not for any of those reasons. I read his books for the same reason as I read the books I’m featuring here.

THE BOOK AND ME. It’s my friend, Leann, who was really into Coelho’s works. She collects all of the novels listed on the cover of The Alchemist, which was given to us when we attended the 8th Ayala Young Leader’s Congress in 2006. That started it all. Among Coelho’s books, The Devil and Miss Prym was the one that really caught my attention that after reading it, I bought my own copy of it so I can read it again.

SYNOPSIS. In the first few chapters, Coelho implied that the longer you stayed on earth, the more wisdom you get from observing the people’s ways and the events happening each day. There is an old woman who sits in the porch of her house overlooking the entrance to the village of Viscos. She sits there waiting for the day the devil comes to stir the lives of the people in the village. I thought that woman was Miss Prym.

But Miss Prym is the younger woman who works in the village pub. She is known by most people there. She also gets to meet strangers who come to the premises for a drink. In those strangers, he puts her hopes that one of them will get her out of village. She is the kind of a woman who longs to explore the world and live as a free and independent woman.

Until one day, the devil came with a stranger who came to the village. That was conclusion of the old woman’s wait and the beginning of Miss Prym’s hopes. The stranger proved to be more than what Miss Prym has expected. For this man owns eleven gold bars buried somewhere, which Miss Prym could own in one condition: one of the villagers must die in the hands of the villagers, themselves.

Is man, in essence, good or evil? That is what the man wanted to find out. Will Miss Prym violate one of God’s Ten Commandments for her dreams to come to reality? Will the villagers kill the useless old woman so the village will be eleven gold bars richer?

READ IT. If you are looking for some moral dilemmas to solve, if you want to test your faith, if you think you are not yet spiritually or morally mature, if you want to understand deeper the nature of man, or if you want to find the answers to the questions above, go grab a copy of this book! This book is best read in a quiet place, where you can freely do some introspection.

The Market–A Novel By My Ka-Alab, Neil Erich Galicia

WE READ books for a variety of reasons. There is one book that I definitely look forward to reading for two great reasons: first, the subject is close to my heart; and second, it is penned by someone I personally know.

I am talking about The Market, a novel of finding your way back home. See, the theme is really close to my heart as my personal blog is called Homeward Bound! There’s something about the idea of heading home that keeps me inspired.Prolly, that is because of my belief that it is natural for man to look for a place to call home–and finding home means finding happiness.  So, I expect that The Market might be about the quest for happiness, contentment, a sense of belongingness, comfort, inner peace, or self-actualization.

The Market is written by Neil Erich Galicia, a batchmate in the Ayala Young Leaders Congress 2006 in Tagaytay. We call each other Ka-Alab because our batch is named Alab (Alay sa Bayan). Neil has been involved in various social development programs as an advocate of the Millennium Development Goals. He’s a participant to the Asian Youth Leaders Forum. Currently connected with the Asia America Initiative, Inc., Neil is a registered Civil Engineer by profession.  He had been an Editor and Writer for the Ateneo de Naga University Triumph Yearbook Publication, from which he might have been encouraged to write and publish a book.

The book is priced at PhP 170.00 inclusive of VAT. It has around 120 pages of text or 22, 600 words and will soon hit the market on July 2, 2008. Unfortunately, it will not be available at the National Book Store. So, I will be ordering copies directly from him. If you want a copy, you can contact me through ariellalisan[at]gmail[dot]com so we can place our orders by bulk. 

Congo by Michael Crichton

 I FIRST encountered Congo—the movie adaptation—when I was a kid. I found it interesting then. Although I could not vividly recount what the movie was all about, I remember scenes where crushed human skulls, an abandoned workstation in a jungle, monkeys, a gorilla, and a few people aboard a hot air balloon firing diamond-powered firearms could be seen. Also, I didn’t know then that it was based on a book. I now have that book in my collection.

THE BOOK AND ME. Everytime I visit my favorite book sale shops, I would always see this book on one of the shelves. But in those times, my focus was to complete my set of Maeve Binchy’s. It was only later that I realized that I should read books by other writers, too. How could I be sure that Maeve Binchy is the best writer there is? So I started collecting Crichton, King, Coelho, and Grisham.
In one of my conversations with some of my students that he has read Congo and he was asking some stuff related to Physics—since I’m teaching Physics. I haven’t read the book so I can’t fully understand what he was asking. That prompted me to read the book.

SYNOPSIS. The first part of Congo is like reading a geographical history book. The following chapters would then be dealing with the electronics industry and how the rich people around the world race to become the leader in producing microelectronics components.
The main character in the novel is the young and determined Dr. Karen Ross, who works for the Earth Resources Technology Services (ERTS) in Houston. Her intelligence and adeptness in the use of computers made her one of the top level personnel at ERTS, and by a twist of fate, a leader of one of the company’s most important mission: the search for the Lost City of Zinj, where the Type IIB Diamonds were said to be found. This type of diamonds is known to play a very important role in the development of computers.
Together with primatologist Peter Elliot, and his language intelligent gorilla, Amy, and expert on Congo expeditions, Charles Munro, Ross went on an exciting quest for the lost City of Zinj. They were a pack of individuals driven by different motives and were willing to lay their lives on their mission.

READ IT. If you are interested in reading anything about the Dark Continent, or enthused in the development of microelectronics, or even if you are just after boyish adventures, this book is for you. Crichton really researches on the subjects touched in his books to make his books sound so factual, so you will also get a lot of information from this book. However, you have to remember that his stories are just fictional, so expect some absurdities, you will need to verify the truthfulness of the information you get or you’ll end up loathing him and his books. If you have read Eaters of the Dead, or the Jurassic Park, this one sounds like one of those, only it’s set in Africa.

National Bookstore Opens in GenSan!

THE COUNTRY’s top bookstore opens a branch in General Santos City at the Ground Floor of Gaisano Mall.

I explored the newly opened store last Friday and was amazed by the great number of people—both young and old—examining the contents of each shelf and bothering the store attendants whether they have copies of this or that. I never expected that people are so interested in books. I have been to National Bookstores in Davao, Cebu, Dumaguete, and even in Manila, but I have not seen as much people scanning pages, picking books, lining up at the counter as I have seen last Friday.

Maybe it’s because the store has just opened. I dunno. We’ll see. But I expect that as the news spread out to more and more people, the owners of National Bookstore here in Gensan might consider expanding soon.
The Gensan branch is not very big. It has a mezzanine floor that makes the total floor area quite bigger than the one at SM City Davao. During my visit I haven’t seen new books of interest. I was looking for the section featuring the new bestsellers but I found none. I wonder why. What welcomed me instead are school supplies for sale. Well, it’s “Back to School” season. But they should put up a section for current books that make the sale in the world or in the country. I might get interested to buy them when they are displayed there, not hidden in the shelves and obscured by other books.

The store attendants, too, and the cashiers had to be trained well. They are obviously new to their jobs and they rattle at the sight of long queues of people. I would be happy to buy books in a store where the attendants are confident and very accommodating.

I bought some stuff that I might need as the school year opens. I bought clear books for my activity sheets and lecture guides, a small whiteboard for my reminders, a pad of sticky notes, index cards, and others. I also bought Reaching Your Potential by Norman Vincent Peale and a book on Ear Singing for my vocal training.
I am glad that there is a National Bookstore here in GenSan. I’ll be visiting the store one of these days.

I have heard from my co-teacher that there used to be a National Bookstore in GenSan before I was born. She said that it was burned down and was never rebuilt again. I’ll research on that.

ye for now. I’ll be posting my book reviews soon as I have the time.

Have a great day!

BOOK BUYING TIP #2: The Cover of the Book Matters

That one should not judge the book by its cover is not a true in all cases. Especially when we are talking of real books.

In most book shops I’ve been in–those ones that sell old books–books are not priced according to titles or authors, which means, there could be many versions of one book at varied prices. Now, if you are looking for cheaper ones, search the shelves for those older versions because most of them have lower prices.

This is actually a continuation of the first tip I gave.

A week or two ago, I bought Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King. I found one that says it was a major motion picture with the faces of the celebrities who played it onscreen. I also found an older version with a different cover. The latter costs only P30 while the former costs P120. Which would you choose? Of course, you’re not stupid enough to chose the first if you are for saving? That is true for novels because there are just reprints, not editions.

Of course, when we talk of older version, it doesn’t mean you have to get those with tattered of deface covers because some of the pages inside might have been gone already. You might miss importance scenes in the novel.

Another thing: I like reading old books. Weird as it may seem but I like the smell of old books.

Happy book buying! Happy reading!

Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King

 I AM not really into horror stories because I feel like it’s a little too childish to believe in those stories. But Stephen King’s Nightmares and Dreamscapes made me realize that it feel good to be childish sometimes.

THE BOOK AND ME. My old friend in college gave this to me as a gift together with three other books. It’s my first Stephen King. I doubted if I would like it when I first got hold of it. But after reading the Introduction, I got a little bit excited to read the stories. The fact that it’s collection of short stories encouraged to read it because it means that I would be exploring plenty of plots and style.

This book had also been adapted into the forms. The most famous of which is the multi-awarded TV series in the US, Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King.

SYNOPSIS. I would only be including the one’s I liked.

Dolan’s Cadillac. This is the first story and I loved it for Stephen King attempts to please his nerdy readers with some application of physics. It’s about revenge and one man’s toiling to stage his bloody vengeance.

The End of the Whole Mess. This one broke my heart. It’s about two brothers and their magnanimous dream of saving the world but only to suffer from a depressing side effect.

Chattery Teeth. This is about an enchanted set of teeth that is supposed to be a toy but it suddenly becomes alive to get back at malevolent hitchhiker. It’s odd but very nice to read. There’s a feeling of excitement as to whether the good will triumph over evil.

Moving Finger.  I couldn’t believe it but this story scared the hell out of me and put an end to my habit of peeing in the sink of my apartment at night. Kidding. This is funny but really makes you feel creepy.

Sorry, Right Number. This story is not written in the usual paragraph from but in teleplay format. This, too, is really very creepy. The ending is quite a shock.

The Ten O’Clock People. The story is quite dragging but I can relate to the characters and to the things going on in the story. This is the bit that you can get a lot of insights.

The Beggar and the Diamond. This is not really part of the book, I think, but this is how Stephen King ended the book. This is based on a Hindu tale. I could feel my hair raise after reading the story.

READ IT. If you are more into short stories, this is best for you. You can opt to read one story each, or each night, so you can digest everything because King’s mind  wander into the realms of the irrational.

Book Buying Tip # 1: Search All the Shelves

THE TITLE of this post doesn’t sound like I’m really giving a good tip. You would right away think that this is nonsense; of course, you will really search all the shelves. But I suggest that you continue reading because you might just be thankful in the end that you did.

A branch of BOOK SALE opened recently at KCC Mall of GenSan. It is now the third book store to have opened in the said mall. There’s a lot of interesting books there on display, the usual stuff. However, the price of a paperback in the said store plays around Php 120.00 to Php 140.00. That rate is quite higher that those you can find in other stores. We are talking here of bestsellers.

Once, I saw Maeve Binchy’s Quentin’s. I got so excited and bought it in haste.

In another occasion, I saw a hardbound version of the Servant of the Bones by Anne Rice, a novel that enthralled me sometime ago. The book is wrapped with a gold jacket that depicts the suffering Azriel went through in Babylon. But the price of the said book was appalling. So I decided to drop it.

I looked around and found a stacks of books near the floor. You have droop very low to see them. I fingered through the titles and found Congo by Michael Crichton. I looked at the price tag and it said, Php 30.00. Imagine that! So I bought it. Maeve Binchy’s Quentin’s was also there…at Php 30.00 also. But I have already bought a copy of it at a much higher price.

The lesson? Don’t get tired of looking in all the bookshelves. Be patient. A priceless jewel might just be lurking in one of the less conspicuous nooks of the store, a jewel you can get without having to shell out much of your money.

Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy

THE BOOK AND ME. Circle of Friends is one of the first English novels I have read. I borrowed it from the school library when I was in high school. Having read it before going to college has helped me a lot because it has somehow given me of glimpse of what was to expect of college life.

It sparked my interest in the country Ireland. The author, Maeve Binchy has an amazing skill in describing places. Reading the book was like having a grand tour around the town of Knockglen and the city of Dublin. 

Maeve Binchy’s edge over other authors is that her characters are very real that I even half-expected to meet them on the street or in school. The dialogues are witty and the narrative is naturally engaging.

The book had been adapted on the big screen in 1995 starring Chis O’Donnel and Minnie Driver.

SYNOPSIS. The story started with the 10th birthday party of Bernadette “Benny” Hogan, a nice but not so attractive girl. She lived a sheltered life in Knockglen with a little envy on the orphan Eve Malone, who later on became her closest friend.

Time came for her to go to the University College in Dublin, which was the beginning of the great change that was going to happen in her life. Then on, she found more friends in Jack Foley, with whom she was attracted to, very cool girl Nan Mahon, and the gang composed Aidan Lynch, Sean Walsh, etc.

A circus of events revealed what’s real about the characters. Then came love and betrayal that put their friendship to test.

Of course, there’s more to that in the novel. There are plenty of surprises that would make you ask, are the people you deal with everyday capable of doing things you least expect them to do? Can you make a person you love love you back?

READ IT. If you want a feel-good novel, this is the one for you. All you have to do is grab the book and sit a corner. You will soon find yourself strolling around Knockglen and Dublin with ease. Maeve Binchy is quite generous with pages—there’s a lot in this book—but you won’t feel pressure. The feeling that you wouldn’t wanna put it down but comes naturally.

The Journey Begins…

AGAIN, THAT is.

I have embarked in numerous journeys that entertains me for a while, but there remains a hollow space in my soul that longs for something to fill it with. And this–yes, this blog–might just be that something I need: a vast field to run about, and a world that listens to the screams emanating from the innermost abyss of my thoughts.

While Homeward Bound is my space for updates about my life and my career, The Journeyman about blogging, Digital Detours for my photos and digital art, Poetic Attempts for my adventures with rhythm and rhyme, Batang Kalye for my rants, and Musika Central for my interest in music adn entertainment, Journeys to the Soul will be the scroll on which I will write my travails with the pen and my encounters with the characters that lived in the minds of the great souls of our time and the past–the greatest authors of all time.

Watch out for book reviews and future short stories and novels humbly (and sometime with a little pride) by me.

May this journey be more wonderful than the ones I had in the past.