Coffeespoons

Read: 4/24/09 2/5 stars You know when you read a book by a supposedly good author, and you're not getting it, so you just keep reading hoping something good will happen? Then you're rewarded with little blips of plot development, but few and far between. Then the book ends, and you are left wondering, "What happened here?" That about summarizes my experience with Baby Proof . I bought this book since I enjoyed reading Something Blue by the same author. Actually, I was keeping an eye out for Something Borrowed, but since I couldn't seem to find a copy, and this one was on sale, I figured this one might be as good. Apparently not. Claudia, the main character, does not want to have a baby. She finds a man who shares her sentiments. They seem perfect for each other, get married, and proceed to have the kind of union most people would dream about. Up until the point that Ben, Claudia's husband, decides he wants a child. Here lies the conflict, and the rest of the ...

Read: 4/21/09 3/5 stars Uglies is the first book in the much talked-about series by Scott Westerfield. It's set in a distant future where society is segregated according to how one looks. Once a child goes through puberty and the awkward physical changes it brings about, he/she is designated as an Ugly and gets to live in Ugly Town. At age 18, everyone goes through an operation that transforms them into a Pretty, after which they live in New Pretty Town, where life is one big party. Then, of course, there are the Middle Pretties and the Old Pretties, usually called the Crumblies. My apologies to those who liked the book, but I could've gagged just because of the names. It seems as if the whole society was ruled by teenage airheads who decided to give places and groups in their society cute-sy nicknames. It was just hard for me to swallow that humanity degenerates into that kind vapidness, especially if it was supposedly ruled by highly intelligent individuals called Specials. G...

Read: 4/18/09 3/5 stars Yes, I am into vampire literature, which is why I would even read about a vampire bunny. Seriously, though, I saw a tv version of Bunnicula when I was much younger, and the story caught my imagination even then. I thought it cute that a bunny would drain the juices from vegetables, leaving them stark white, yet not do anything to harm any other creature in the household. Perfect combination of a sinister-ness of a vampire and the cuteness of a bunny. What I also remember from that version is that the judgment whether Bunnicula was really a vampire was left hanging. I know the hanging ending is typical, but I thought it pretty cool. After all, how can one reconcile fangs and glowing eyes with a pristine and harmless ball of fur? Of course, that question is more or less answered in the book. Reading this book was mostly an exercise in curiosity. (Come to think of it, a lot of my reading is just that). Anyway, I wanted to know if the tv version was faithful to the ...

Read: 4/18/09 4/5 stars First book that I read in Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon . In this retelling of the Cinderella story, Ella turns out to be a girl uncommonly cursed with unstinting obedience. Given an order, Ella must see it through or she goes through physical distress--palpitations, fainting, perhaps even leading to death. But this doesn't mean that Ella actually enjoys following orders. Inasmuch as she can, she defies them. For instance, when ordered to let go of something, she does so making sure that it breaks or is damaged. Not because Ella is an evil girl. Simply because she finds a need to assert her free will, within the confines of her curse. And for me, this is the whole charm of the book. How Ella, seemingly confined to following what others tell her, actually finds a way to be herself. We all know how the story ends, but this doesn't preclude the fact that the actual reading is enjoyable. Here, we see that the love between Ella and her Prince Charming (funn...

Haven't done one of these in a while, and I miss it. In his blog Kyusireader, Peter talked about Michael Crichton's unpublished manuscripts , one of them unfinished, and the possibility of getting someone else to finish them. Here's an interesting take on the issue of getting other authors to finish a dead author's work . For my money, I agree--leave dead author's unfinished work alone. In case you're like me, trying to read all the Pulitzer winners for fiction, this list of the Top 10 forgotten Pulitzer Prize-winning novels might be of interest to you. I often return library books late, so this story is inspiring. At least I know I'm not the worst there is.:P My apologies to fans of James Patterson, John Grisham or Dan Brown, but I totally agree with the advocacy of these British thriller writers . Enough with "production-line" thriller writing. Ooh, Carlos Ruiz Zafon's new novel The Angel's Game , is coming out in June. Check here for ...

I am a relatively new blogger. I only started last January. Why? Because apart from having a set of people I could talk to books about, I wanted to write about books I'd read, both as a practice for writing and as a way to reach more people who might share my interests, too. Book blogging, then, has turned into such an addiction for me, not so much because I get to write again, but because I get to meet people who do share the same interests--who love reading and books as much as I do and perhaps even more. Moreover, I get wonderful reading ideas and suggestion, essential for someone who so loves to promote reading among family, friends, colleagues and students. Enter Dewey's Read-a-thon. Being a new blogger, this is my first time to hear of and join the read-a-thon. For those not familiar with it, the 24-hour Read-a-thon is exactly what its name implies--24 hours to read any number of books. It was begun in October 2007 by Dewey of Hidden Side of a Leaf . Unfortunately, Dewey ...

A few more minutes to go, so time to get this done.:) 1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Hard to say, considering that all hours had me distracted. But since I came into the read-a-thon with a laid back approach, I'd say none of it was really daunting. 2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I'd go with any Jasper Fforde book, Sarah Addison Allen's Garden Spells , and most books by Charlaine Harris. If you like more serious reads, I highly recommend Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin or Alias Grace , Ian McEwan's Atonement , and anything by Neil Gaiman. 3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? None particularly come to mind. Though I am inspired to think up of a similar local event here to promote reading. All in all, it was such a pleasure to be part of this. 4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I really loved the supportive c...

I know this was supposed to be mid-read-a-thon, but I figured it'd be fun to answer anyway...:) 1. What are you reading right now? I'm just starting The Uglies by Scott Westerfield just now. 2. How many books have you read so far? Well, I have a grand total of...2! One of them young adult, and the other middle reader! Yeah, some reader for the read-a-thon I'm turning out.:) 3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? At the rate I'm going right now, I'd be glad to finish The Uglies. 4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Unfortunately, I did not get to free up my whole day. My day was like most weekends of a mom with two kids aged 5 and 3. 5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Oh, yes! From attending soccer practice, kindermusik classes, family dinners. How did I deal with these? I figured i'd just sneak in some reading whenever I could a...

Well, better late than never...:) Just got back from, of all things, book shopping! Where are you reading from today? Here in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. 3 facts about me … My favorite author's Jane Austen. I teach as a passion and with a passion. I don't eat innards.:) How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? I want to be flexible. I'm not setting a number of books to accomplish. I just want to see how many I can read.:) Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? No specific goal, really. If anything, I'd like to meet new people and read more great blogs. If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, Any advice for people doing this for the first time? This is my first time. Any advice for me, veteran read-a-thoners?:)

Read: 4/9/09 4/5 stars I've loved Neil Gaiman ever since I read the original version of Stardust (the graphic novel illustrated by Charles Vess) . I then followed him through Neverwhere , American Gods , Anansi Boys , his collection of short stories Smoke and Mirrors , and even his collaboration with Terry Pratchett in Good Omens . Of his young adult and children's works, I've read Coraline , The Wolves in the Walls , and The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish . Strangely, though, I haven't gone through his Sandman graphic novels yet. I'm too proud to borrow them and too cheap to buy them. Anyway, I was pushed to get The Graveyard Book because, aside from it being a Gaiman novel, it also won the Newbery Award, a feat which I found curious. Let me explain: majority of the Gaiman books I had read were dark fantasy meant for more mature readers. I simply found it curious and laudable that Gaiman could so easily transition to writing for younger audiences. To be hon...

In about 9 hours, I'll be starting my first ever Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon challenge. I joined primarily because I'm enjoying discovering the wonderful people in the book blogging community and secondly, because I do love to talk about books with people who also love books. The putting-a-dent-in-my-TBR is just a third consideration, because I know I might not really get a lot of reading done. Nevertheless, I'm excited to read the updates of the other participating people, and I'd love to cheer them along, too. If you're interested, do check out the link to the 24 Hour Read-a-thon. There's still time yet to join! Oh, and good luck to all the other participants, too!

Read: 4/8/09 4/5 stars I had little intention of reading this book before I had seen the movie. However, since my tutee started reading it and I thought it would be great to use it in one of our activities, I promptly went through five bookstores in two cities just to find a copy. Why did the four other bookstores in one city not have a copy? I honestly do not know, given it's such a popular work already courtesy of the multi-Academy winning movie adaptation. So, like what usually happens, I've read the book before seeing the movie. Unlike what usually happens, I liked the movie better than the book. "Q&A" (I much prefer to use the original title) is a highly readable and entertaining work. It carries the same premise as the movie--a boy from the slums of India becomes a contestant on a quiz show and goes on to win the biggest prize ever won by any individual in any game show. His veracity is doubted, however, because authorities reason out that a boy of his backg...

TEASER TUESDAYS is a weekly event, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading , where you ‘tease’ others with a little bit from the book you’re currently reading, making them want to read it, too! Feel free to play along! You simply... My teaser: "I want to kiss her. I want to kiss her more than I've ever wanted anything in my life." Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, page 130

Got this from my good friend and co-teacher, Joel . For those of you who live in Metro Manila and are book sale freaks (you know who you are:-D), here's an upcoming sale... COME TO SCHOLASTIC SUMMER WAREHOUSE SALE ! BOOK FIESTA! April 15-19, 2009 Wednesday-Sunday, 8am-8pm May 4-10, 2009 Monday-Sunday, 8am-8pm Scholastic Warehouse #70 C. Raymundo Ave., Rosario, Pasig City Tel. nos. 751-6714, 628-4487, 0922-8562077 Here's the map: Enjoy the shopping!

Read: 4/6/09 4/5 stars Aerin is a king's daughter, albeit an outcast since her mother was a commoner and an outsider of Damar, their beloved kingdom. Moreover, her mother was believed to be a witch who died out of despair at not being able to provide the king with a male heir. On top of that, Aerin does not have the Gift, a particular brand of magic, common to all members of royalty. Though Aerin struggles with her confusing background, compounded by shallow and vindictive relatives, she finds her own niche by teaching herself to fight and overcome dragons, small nuisances in her world. Her valor is further tested, however, when a great dragon awakens. The awakening of the dragon is but a portent of the evil that Aerin has yet to face in order to realize who and what she really is. It's hard to come up with a summary of this book as there were many things that happened. Perhaps the difficulty is compounded by the idea of double destinies featured in this book. Aerin has one lif...

Read: 4/5/09 4/5 stars My advance apologies to non-readers of Filipino, as this book that I'm reviewing is written mostly in Taglish , the curious mix of Tagalog and English peculiar here in the Philippines. Para Kay B (o kung pano dinevastate ng pag-ibig ang 4 out of 5 sa atin) (For B: or how love has devastated 4 out of 5 of us ) is the first novel of accomplished Filipino screenwriter, Ricky Lee . Lee has written short stories, plays, tv and movie scripts, as well as what is considered the scriptwriting bible in the Philippines, Trip to Quiapo . Recently, his most famous screenwriting work, Himala , was voted as Best Asia-Pacific Film of All-Time through a worldwide online voting conducted by CNN. That said, I, personally, am not so familiar with Ricky Lee. Why? Because I am one of that strange species of citizen that has a hard time reading works written in one of our national languages. (We only have two, by the way: English and Filipino). Plus, I never reall...

I'm so excited! This is my first weekly event. Also because it's kind of hard to post book reviews when it takes you a while to actually finish a book. Sigh. TEASER TUESDAYS is a weekly event, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading , where you ‘tease’ others with a little bit from the book you’re currently reading, making them want to read it, too! Feel free to play along! You simply... My teaser: "Well, madam, we poor can also ask questions and demand answers. And I bet you, if the poor conducted a quiz, the rich wouldn't be able to answer a single question." Q&A or Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup, page 17 I'm really enjoying this book so far.:)

This post is a bit late in the making, but only because I really wanted to give it to the right people. (Read: I needed to find more great book bloggers!) A few weeks ago, I was honored to receive the Splash! award from Blooey of Bookmarked! Because I've been given that affirmation, in spite of the short time I've been blogging, I'd like to spread the love to the other book blogs that I love. But first... The Rules: 1) Put the logo on your blog/post. 2) Nominate up to 9 blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, impress or inspire you. 3) Be sure to link to your nominees within your post. 4) Let them know that they have been splashed by commenting on their blog. 5) Remember to link to the person from whom your received your Splash award. The Awardees: Dovegreyreader at dovegreyreader scribbles Chris at book-a-rama Aarti at Booklust Avisannschild at she reads and reads Bookfool at Bookfoolery and Babble Coversgirl at Between the Covers Ms Bubblefiish at Ms Textual's Book Bl...

Read: 4/2/09 2/5 stars This book should have been entitled "heartburn." Because that's what I got after reading it. I picked up Heartsick for three reasons: it was on sale. there was a massive publicity campaign when it was coming out. (or massive enough to me who reads the ads Shelfari has). it's taking me a while to get through Titus Groan after I picked it up because it took me a while to get through The Wind-up Bird Chronicles . I think the only thing I'm happy about after reading Heartsick , Chelsea Cain's first novel, is that I'm one more book closer to my initial 50-book target for the year. The book capitalizes on the the Clarice/Hannibal Lecter relationship, but doesn't do it too well. Perhaps what seems original in Heartsick is that the heinous serial killer is a woman, Gretchen Lowell. And not just any woman--a beautiful woman, at that. Two years before the main story opens, Gretchen captures Archie Sheridan, the head of the task force mea...

So here's a quiz that's reminiscent of all those Facebook quizzes. What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more. Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm Literate Good Citizen Book Snob Fad Reader Non-Reader What Kind of Reader Are You? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz Truth be told, I would've wanted to be a Book Snob. Obviously not, if I liked Twilight .:) So, what about you? What does this wholly scientific quiz say you are?

Here's what I found recently on my favorite book news sites: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, the series , debuted last Sunday at HBO. Check out this television review of the series. Here's the HBO teaser of the show: So, how well do you know fictional dysfunctional families? Take this quiz and find out. Guess what? Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series is finally going to be finished, albeit the tricky problem of the author's death. And is it going to end with Book 12? No! Strangely, the finale will be spread out to three books. Read more about the plans for the final books here . Finally, here's Steven Colbert interviewing Neil Gaiman about his Newbery Award winning and Hugo Award nominated work, The Graveyard Boo k . Gaiman's so charming.:)