Short Read, Sweet Review

All's Fair in Blog and War by Chrissie Peria

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A good book to bring when you decided to go to Macau, because of the places cited. Just that.



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Shinkai's Recent Heartbreaker

I love heart-warming stories that cuts deep, I whispers to your soul and made you reflect for the next couple of days. 

That is what Makoto Shinkai's works did to me. His films made my heart yearn for the quietness of life, how one's character simply clings to you. 

I first learned about him through bookish friends, who recommended watching Five Centimeters per Second, a film composed of three stories, all about first love and moving forward. In this film we also see how mass transit affects relationships - from snail mails, to trains in the 90's, then to mobile phones and internet; how a bullet train impacts the film as an irony: as a transit to close the distance and a barrier to separate.

Then another bookish friend, who is a fan of Shinkai's works, introduced me to this:

That is why I haven't been able to read tearjerkers for weeks, I was watching this on an infinite repeat. HAHAHA, or maybe as of this moment, I prefer watching this first and let me immerse in all those feels and tears. And I told you - TEARS! 

Kotonoha no Niwa (Garden of Words) is about a teenager who aspires to be a shoemaker and a 27-year-old depressed employee who meets one random rainy day. Both goes to the garden in the middle of Shibuya even rainy morning, and as time passes, both wishes for the rain to come, so that they can meet. 

With the same quietness as his 5 Centimeters per Second, Garden of Words is another well-thought film, together with its rich graphics and heart-breaking music. I recommend this observation as the blogger mentioned his sentiments on what made this film so beautiful.

So excuse me first for I have to watch this film again - before reading all those other tearjerkers. 

Of Quiet Walks and Wild Berries

Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Poignant and heartwarming, the novel sets you into a quiet mood, experiencing saudade in the middle of a heavy rainfall. The book opens with a cold winter welcome, it feels slow at first, but as you go along the story, you are slowly opening up - to the slow talks, to the longer sunshine, to the serense streams of the river bend, to the peaceful poems and prose, and to the sharings of the two women - of different generations, but having the same broken past and dark secrets.

I learned about their stories of loss, of longing and of love. Some are of melancholic tone - but most of them cuts deep, you cannot help but shed a tear. And oh, TEARS!

What I learned about is how the old woman named Astrid told Veronika this:

"...Love comes to us with no forewarning, and once given to us it can never be taken away."

This is for us to remember that love is a gift, and may it come in such a quiet fashion, it will remain in our hearts forever.



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Pinoy Reads Pinoy Books Goes to: San Pablo

Walong Diwata ng Pagkahulog, a literary fiction nominated for 2009 Man Asian Prize literary, is a puzzling book. Inspired by non-linear plots of Murakami, and other authors cited in this work, the book is a surprise in itself. When I first read it, I wasn't able to put it down. I kept of looking and looking and try to solve its questionable episodes (so-called as such since you cannot simply build a plot in this novel) - but at the end, I felt betrayed. Egay Samar left me hanging. And I felt frustrated, since there is no resolution or whatnot. 

Maybe this frustration - echoed with my life episodes that left hanging - gave Egay a clue to give this message to me, as he wrote his dedication to my copy of the first edition by Anvil publishing.

Kay Ella, 

Kung bakit madaling makalimot ang Walong Diwata ng Pagkahulog ng lagi nating pagkalunod sa nagdaan.

Sinasadya ang lahat. 

-Egay :)

Anyways, I don't feel angst-y anymore, or I shall not express my frustration for not getting the ending that I wanted to. For this is another story.

Actually, the Pinoy Reads Pinoy Books is a book club in goodreads that loves field trips. We treat each other like students major in Philippine literature and appreciating the life and works of each and every author. This time around, we went to the countryside~ to the town where Egay Samar grew up - San Pablo, Laguna.

San Pablo is a quiet town, but also famous for its enchanting seven lakes. We went to the most famous twin lakes - Yambo and Pandin. And of course, we went swimming to that huge basin of 100+ feet deep.

No, I am not making you feel envious - I want you to come and do the same. Join us, in learning the book, the author, and its associated activity - the field trip. :)

The twin lakes of Pandin and Yambo

Other shots of the peaceful Pandin

Book-lovers with author Egay Samar

And we have to have photos of us swimming - JUST BECAUSE :)

And photos of sailin' - maybe for their facebook profile pages, haha

And this, actually not for profile page, but because readers say that I looked more of a volleyball varsitarian, rather than a lake swimmer. Maybe I was one of the Diwata?

Egay said that Tilapia is abundant here in San Pablo, maybe that's why Ayban took a pose

The discussion, the gush, and the nails!

And the last photo where we are dry and happy and interested with Orange and Egay's love-life from yesteryears 

Oh how I wish we can do this often. :)

Photos are owned by Doni Oliveros. You may see his wide selections of 1001-books-before-you-die here. 

Am I This Masochist?

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by A.N. Roquelaure

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


The first was... oh. A twist in a fairy tale.
Next goes the WTF moments.
Then goes the "I don't even" gasps.
Afterwards you go "MEH" with all recycled stories and VERY LONG STORYTELLING NONSENSE.
Finally you close the book disappointed at everything.



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Thematic Read for July 2013

I invest tears in reading. 

A friend told me Matrons do the same. 

That is why in my book club I have the title - The Matronic Reader. 

The first thematic reading for this year is about the mothers - and because of lack of time, or maybe, I was busy doing the field trips with the classmates, I have a spillover read. URGH.

This time around, to reinforce my "matronic reading skills", I am into exploring the depths of the sentiments of the characters who are having suicidal tendencies / episodes. I am into getting to know how depressed is one with these depression phases, and how do they find resolve or release - by ending their own life. 

So say hello to Laslas Genres.

The laslas girl group started this year, planning to have this month-long fest as our own way of participating World Suicide Prevention. Knowing that this occasion happens every September 10th of the year, we decided to do them in advance and immerse ourselves by reading two books - in Buddy-Reading form. Buddy-reads is the simultaneous reading of the online participants of the same book for a prescribed period, and posting their comments online. 

We were through with the first novel - Jay Asher's Th1rteen R3asons Why and onward we go with starting with the second novel - Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak.

Th1rteen R3asons Why is about Hannah Baker's recorded tapes passed on to Clay Jensen, a man considered one of the reasons why the former took suicide. Speak is about Melissa Sordino's silence and monologues, trying to forget the traumatic experience of one incident that drives her away from her own social world.

Here are their synopses:

Th1rteen R3asons Why.Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

Speak. Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.

May the Lord grant me time to read the second book on the list, and able to share my sentiments with the laslas girls. :)

Love is Portrayed via Paradox

The Secret Language of Love: A Visual Treasury of Love Through the Ages by Megan Tresidder

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A treasury of knowledge and principles taken from the philosophies - from the ancient times to the contemporary, the Secret Language of Love is a bucketful of insights taken from different angles.

On a perspective of a writer, Megan Tresidder started the compilations about love from its anatomy and dimensions, to the language itself - and ended it with how people designed it - or building the archetype of love.

From our need to our perceptions of it, the writings filled with poems and portfolios, and pictures that we all adore. Amorous and heartfelt, the writings give a take not only of how love is desired and hated at the same time, and how one can aspire for love, yet we take them for granted.

It contained also the paradoxes of love - from our affiliations with fairytales, to narcissim, and to giving ourselves for the sake of the beloved. I really wanted to quote all of them, but quoting her words will spoil you, as you wished to see the epistles with your own eyes and reflect on your own, immersing in the phases of your own love story, may it be glorious or unfortunate.

what I liked the most is how she ended the book with Tolstoy's lesson imparted to the future generations -

"Tolstoy reminds us that ultimately lovers cannot forget the real world in which they have to live."

For the ultimate paradox of love is that we tend to forget everything once we felt it. And it is not just when we felt it - it is also once we decide to feel it, prioritizing it above everything else.



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Book Trip: Manila Noir Book Launch

We are the laslas girls. 

And we wanted an emotional mess.

Ergo, we welcome the "Noir feel".

The laslas girl group started this year, when all of us wanted to explore the books having themes of depression and suicide. Ella, being the matronic reader, wanted to explore the depths of having these emotions and able to reflect the insights and moments of the characters. She invited Tricia - the girl who is an avid fan of this genre, able to read Girl, Interrupted and able to share her feelings about it. Cary and Anna joined too, as they would like to be immersed in the same feel.

We started to read Jay Asher's first novel, Th1rteen R3asons Why and giving ourselves two-week reading window. BUT WE FAST-READ INSTEAD, finishing the whole book in one week. And as part of the bonding, we met and joined to the book launch last Saturday. 

Laslas girls (from left to right): Anna, Tricia, Cary and Ella. The man in the middle is Jayson!

Manila Noir, a part of the Akashic Book Series, had its first launch last July 6th at National Book Store Glorietta 1.  Gathering all these award-winning Filipino writers and contributed their piece of dark and gothic noir-feel, they made this anthology known to the Philippine market, via Anvil Publishing. The good thing about the anthology is that they introduced a fiction in a graphic form - introducing Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo's Trese into the international market.

Introducing the noir feel - the laslas girl group are instant fans of Manila Noir, and decided to invite every reader to appreciate the anthology soonest. We are to open a buddy read online, having free-posting as the basic rule.

Ella is late, because she slept the whole morning - with the staple reason of tremendous workloads. She came just about the time Jessica Hagedorn introduces the works of prized writers. But she registered late, having the rest of the laslas girls the greater opportunity to sign their books at an earlier time. That's why she became impatient and - yea, irate - of waiting for her turn. Imagine her other girl friends able to see the writers earlier than her. And they HAVE PHOTOS WITH THEM.

Ella is irate. I should mark this blogsite as iamirateella.com, shouldn't I? :P

I hope we girls can finish the book soonest and have another set of girl-bonding, bringin the noir feel, having emo-emo messy moments, and just talk and laugh and feel depress about it. We shall have our own blades soon. AHAHAHAHA.

But first, we put up another thread for another book - Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak - another first novel of the author - with the same depressed theme. This, marked as to read, and then the Manila Noir. We promise!

Photos are owned by Tricia and Aenna. Follow Tricia's photo-journal here and Anna's rants and raves here.

PS: I just found my other pictures in facebook - and so I shall post them here. Thanks Anna!

An irate episode - They have numbers 39, 40 and 41 while I got 86. Talk about being late.

Emir and Ella, the irate lady 

Nearing completion - Ella had her turn and they signed the book. YAAAY!

Will You Kiss It For Me?

Dear Helene, 

But sadly, I cannot. 

I cannot kiss it for you, Helene. I cannot do that anymore because I do not have the time machine to go back to the years where the bookstore is still open. Based on the research, it was a tiny store near Baclays Bank, within the far end of the Charing Cross Road, where the Cambridge Circus was. 

Found this 1955 photo on the internet, thanks to the man who posted this!

But now, even the circus was gone - it became an intersection between Charing Cross and Shaftesbury Avenue . Look, the bookstore is not the bookstore no more. It was turned into a bistro. 

Google maps says this is what replaced the bookstore, back in 2012.

Oh, Helene, if only you knew. I went to London two years ago. I went to the Palace Theatre, too. But sadly, I haven't found any bookstore along the street. You see, I can easily take the tube from Tower Hill to Tottenham Court Road and stroll towards the circus, and look for the 84 Charing Cross Road. If only I read your book couple of years earlier, I would've ask for the golden plate which immortalized the location of the bookstore - like those letters of yours that immortalized not only the place, but also of the person who manages the bookstore.

I used to live near the Tower Hill Station, and I always carry my oyster card.

It was only recently that I've encountered your collection of letters - it was a traveling book that the book club owned. It was only yesterday that I've read it in one sitting. It was supposed to be read weeks ago, as soon as I received the package, but because of workloads and other stuff, I wasn't able to.

Tina sent it via courier because I wasn't able to attend the previous book discussion.

My sight literally zoomed in to my name - knowing it was a package sent. And when I opened it... tada! It was your letters immortalized into a book!

I felt your letters, Helene. It was heartwarming and full of those Ye Olde English books that are worth reading, but since I am not familiar with the others - I cannot relate to your bookshelf, actually. I read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, but all those dated 1800's, I cannot afford to own or even read one - for me they maybe too difficult. I still have to read Virginia Woolf's collection of essays entitled The Common Reader. 

I researched the books entry in Wikipedia to double-check your bibliography! And I re-concluded, we can share our sentiments about Mr. Darcy. haha!

But what I loved the most is how those letters are kept to the heart and were able to salvage in two decades~ and that for me, is very tough. I live in a tropical country with heavy monsoon rains. My diaries and psycho-graphs dated back in my high school years were simply swept away by flood. Even precious photos of me and my family when we were younger. Oh, I just loved your mails. You started with a formal greeting and ordering those books you needed - then as time goes by, you became sweet not only to Frank and his family, but also to the other staff of the bookstore - even to Megan who went to the land far far away. You even wanted to convince her otherwise! 

And then as Shiela grows up, you didn't stop being affectionate, you sent parcels of food, cheered for the Spurs (of Tottenham), and you watched The Queen's coronation in the wee hours of New York morn. And you continue to order books and greet everyone from the other side of the world. 

But people come and go.

It maybe sad, but it is futile to live with regrets. I was so happy that Frank remained the sweet man I thought him to be. As well as you, you remained the same thoughtful woman I imagined you be.

I wish I can hug you. I wish I can kiss you.

But sadly, I cannot.

An aficionado of books,

Ella

Monasterio ala Rio De Janeiro: Tarlac

If only I can go to the Americas, I prefer here:

Considered as the sixth largest city in the world, Rio is filled with beaches and nightlife. But when you are down and lonely and wanted to do a pilgrimage - you can go to its 30-meter high statue located on the top of the Corovado Mountains.

But given that I don't have enough funds even to apply for a VISA and be a tourist, and not really into travelling (since I prefer reading more), I was yet recruited as a foreign exchange student by the classmates' field trip and went to a province having the same vibe as with the Jesus the Redemeer's.

We went to San Jose, Tarlac.

From the wikipedia blurb:

San Jose is a third-class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 33,960 people. It was created into a municipality pursuant to RA 6842; ratified on April 21, 1990; taken from the municipality of Tarlac City.

The municipality is a quiet place filled with vast farmland and goats and cows. I remember my travel in Northern Ireland filled with green pastures and SHEEEEEEEEPPPPP~ (baa-aaaaah!). I was fortunate that I only went there for a weekend getaway, since I used to live in the city, and being stuck in the countryside will be painful for me. Do not get me wrong, I actually envy those who retire in these places filled with serenity and fresh air; but as young as I am, I'd rather stay and work in the city.

And being that joiner in their weekend getaway, before doing the pilgrimage, we became guests in a farmland resort owned by a retired officer of The GFI - and small world - we used to be counterparts when I was back in the government service. Deja vu encounters, eh? We used to talk about opening up new bank branches to cater financial services to the target clientele.

It was fun meeting him again after years, when I became part of The Bank and he - happy and retired, with his son succeeding his footsteps and his advocacy.

His property - the farmland - has also a man-made resort to accommodate guests who are planning to go on a pilgrimage. We are not the first set of dabarkads who did this - he accommodate lots of folk. But it was tough to market his place - since San Jose is far from his place, two hours via jeepney. But knowing his place has a swimming pool, might as well use it and spend the night merrily before attending a solemn sundate with the Lord.
 



His residence is where the orchids were planted. And his residence isn't near the farmland.



They got a swing to where you can relax. This is one nice residence.

If this isn't called a selfie, then what is this? Duofie, then? Haha



Farmland on a sunset



Ella and Bianx poses at their tipsy point




Pictures for swimming~ because we were tipsy and we need to swim and we love picture-taking

 

I met new classmates! There's the son named Gene, and there's a guy with a girl who topped the graduating class in law school named Jake, and there's this brother from another chief named Chris! Chris is also a protégé of my chief way back in my government days, he used to be my partner in another agency - from the Department of Budget and Management. He recently resigned from the GFI to be part of the big bank - Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.


And so a cloudy sundate arrived. We have had our breakfast buffet and photo-op, yet again...



Field-trip participants (from left to right): Bianx, Josh, Jules, Jake,
Jay, Gene's bro and dad, Gene, Chris, Ella and Jed

Before leaving the resort, we enjoyed the videoke sessions and did the #TimeMachineSundayTunes, a recent term I coined while we sang all the songs of the 80's - the country and those old rock that are full of soul. It was Chris who started it, then I joined... and so did Jed and Jay... we sang the songs we remember from our parents. And it was awesome. HAHAHA

And so we did the pilgrimage.

 

Pilgrimage-half-of-the-way: the group striked the pose in the middle of the road

The "weeeeh~" pose

Pumi-Pre-nup?



We're here!

The Redeemer Statue in the cloudy sky



Flowers in the garden of Monasterio



Group picture under the Redeemer Statue

Proteges of the same chief: We finally met after years of phone correspondences in the workplace



I feel like a proud ate of these kiddos

Lovers in Tarlac

Klasmeyts: Future Seniors of the GFI looked at the serenity of Tarlac's greenery

Pumi-Pre-nup ulit?

And so it was. We offered our praises, said our graces and surrendered our problems in the holy mass for the pilgrims.

Facade: The Servants of the Risen Christ Monastic Community Church
offer masses for the Pilgrims at 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM

Landscape and peer photos are owned by Jed Ambojia. Read his romantic rants and escapist episodes here.