Mish-mash: ReaderCon FF4 + RR November 2013

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I’m just a tad late for this weekly and monthly post. I’m going to combine this post because I might forget one or the other, plus I think I made a way to connect these two topics. Let’s see if I can get away with it.

So a Filipino Friday on a Saturday! :D

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This is Still Reading, Right? Do you read (or have at least tried to read) books in other formats aside from print? How was your experience with these different book formats?

I have answered this several times, but let me talk about how things have changed now. Ever since I got Hannah the Kindle Paperwhite, I’ve been using it more often than I actually read print books. I realized that in the past three months, I’ve read the assigned book club book in my Kindle. Most of the books I finished recently were all in ebook form, which goes to show how much I’m enjoying using the Paperwhite. I mean, I used Astrid the Kindle a lot, but after some time I stopped using it because…I’m not really sure why. I have a feeling it’s the front light feature of the Paperwhite that hooked me in — it’s just so useful.

Plus, I seem to read ebooks faster than I read print books.

And then I looked at my actual print book TBR, and I feel a little bad, because I’m not making a dent at it at all. Not that I’m still pressured to get rid of all the books in my Mt. TBR. It’s just that I was starting to miss the feel of print books. And dog-earing actual pages.

So that is why for my November Required Reading, I have decided to go for print books. :)

Required Reading: November

Just two books! Two print books! :D

November 2013

  • The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater – I had this in my November 2012 reading list because it had November written all over it (I mean, the story was set in November) but I got hit by the slow reading bug that month so I never even touched it. This time, I’m going to try to really read it. (I started already, fyi.)
  • The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster – Our book club’s book of the month. I love anything New York, so I’m quite excited to read this. Plus I heard good things about this. Lady Liberty approves. :D

Of course I will probably read something from my Kindle again, but that’s already a given. I’m going to try to read more print books at the last two months of the year, just so I can dog-ear properly.

Back to formats: other than ebooks, I have listened to a few audiobooks. I just get distracted too fast so I don’t always listen to them. I find that enjoy audiobooks more when it’s a “reread”, and it’s a book I loved — case in point: Jellicoe Road. Even the audiobook broke my heart. And I can’t dog-ear with audiobooks! (Yes, that’s really important. :P)

It is exactly one week till the ReaderCon! It’s going to be a busy week, but I am so, so, so excited for November 9! I hope you are too! The 3rd Filipino ReaderCon: What Do Readers Want? will be on November 9, 2013, 8:00am to 6:00pm at the Rizal Library – Ateneo de Manila University. This event is held in partnership with Rizal Library and National Book Development Board (NBDB), and sponsored by Buqo, Fully Booked, Adarna House, Scholastic, Flipreads, OMF Literature, Hachette, Simon & Schuster and Island Merchants Corporation, with media partner When In Manila. I’ll see you, yes? Say hi! :)

 

Posted in: Challenges, Reading Quirks \ Tagged: , , , , , ,

ReaderCon 2013: Filipino Friday (1): Reader Species

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It’s that time of the year again, and I predict I’m going to be really, really busy for the next few weeks because of this:

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The 3rd Filipino ReaderCon will be on November 9, 2013 at the Rizal Library in ADMU. I’ve always been excited for ReaderCons, but I’m especially excited for this one because we’ve got a great program, and this is definitely a bigger event than last year‘s. :)

As with last year’s events, we have the Filipino Fridays again, and look, I am actually on time for this time around. :D Here’s the first week topic:

Hello, Reader! Let’s get to know you, and more importantly, what kind of reader are you? Laura E. Kelly released an infographic about Reader species — under what Domain/Class/Family/Genus/Species do you fall under? Give examples, and feel free to talk about why you belong to that species. Who knows, you may find readers in your own genus. ;)

ReaderSpeciesThumbnail

Okay first off, a quick introduction to the new visitors on the blog. Hi, I’m Tina, and I am a book addict. Or, okay, that’s a little old. I’m Tina, 27, and I am a Filipino Book Blogger. I work as a content manager in the morning (or afternoon, depending on the shift), and I read as much as I can every chance I get. I’m one of the administrators of a local book club based in Goodreads, The Filipino Group. :)

So what’s my species? I’m pretty sure I’m a “cross-bred reader mutt”, as mentioned in the infographic. :D

Book Lover > Compulsive > Book Abuser:

  • The Book Buster – You dog-ear book pages and take books out into the sun. Eat over them, too. The more beaten up the book, the more beloved.
    – Well what’s my new blog name again? :D I eat while I read, I read while I eat, and I read outside. I don’t even mind cracked spines. I don’t abuse it on purpose — I don’t even think of it as “abuse”. I think of it as a book having more personality. :)
  • The Book Rescuer – Have 24 boxes in the garage filled with wonderful books rescued from other garages and used book stores.
    – Well, I do not have 24 boxes, but I do have a habit of saving books from stores and giving them good homes. My friends call it “doing a Tina”. :D

Book Lover > Situational:

  • App Happy – Whenever there’s crumb of time, or just if you’re bored, will download or read whatever’s next up in your ebook queue.
    – This is why I always bring my Kindle, and I have a Kindle app on my phone. Never go out without a book! :D

Book Lover > Social:

  • The Book Clubber – Favorite social event is the monthly book club get together. Look forward to more than just discussions of books.
    – Oh, if it isn’t obvious yet. :) My book club is fantastic, yo.

Book Lover > Free Range:

  • The Cross-Under – A grown-up who reads YA or kids books, or a kid who reads adult books.
    – I don’t read a lot of YA nowadays, but I still like reading it. :)

Other Readers > Conflicted:

  • Delayed Onset Reader – Buy one or many books but months may go by before starting them. When you do you are amazed that you waited so long.
    – My TBR pile at home is a proof of this.

There you go. I used to be The Chronological Reader and Compulsive Book Buyer, but I guess I evolved? How about you — what kind of reader are you? :)

Posted in: Reading Quirks \ Tagged: , ,

ReaderCon 2012 Filipino Friday 1+2+3: Introductions and Schools and Habits

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Filipino FridayI’m a week late to this, because I was out of town last weekend. Apologies. But anyway, it’s less than a month before the 2nd ReaderCon and knowing what’s happening behind the scenes of such a big event can be very, very exciting. It also means that I’m not blogging as much, too! Eep. But let’s remedy that now — here’s my first two three Filipino Fridays in one post! (Yes, you can do that :D)

So, Introductions. Hello blog visitors old and new! I’m Tina, and I’m a book-a-holic! :P I own this blog and several others, and I also write about books occasionally for an online magazine too. I’m a content manager by day, and a reader for the rest of the time, and I’d like to call myself a writer too, who’s just digging for enough courage to set some of my written children free in the world. :) I’ve been reading for as long as I can remember, but I’ll reserve stories for that later on. :P

I never really know what to answer about my favorite books of all time, but if there was a flood (God forbid) and I can only save 1, I’ll probably grab This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti because it was the book that got me reading again. The rest I shall acquire again on my Kindle (of course I’ll save that too).

Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. TolkienA book that surprised me this year? The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. I knew it was good fantasy, but I didn’t really expect to love it, or even that I’d read it this year. But thanks to my book club, I actually finished it! I don’t know when I’ll read the next books, but I definitely will read them sometime.

I’m going to skip some of the questions so I can head for the second Filipino Friday question: Who got you into reading? I was thinking of how I’d write this part, because according to my mom, I had a very interesting reading history! Let’s do it in bullets then.

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Reading Quirks \ Tagged: ,

Going Audio

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Last year, I won an audiobook of Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson during one of the Armchair BEA twitter parties. I thought it was about time for me to try an audiobook, and Suite Scarlett didn’t disappoint. It’s not that I’m new to audiobooks, anyway — I remember listening to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe on audio first before I got the Narnia boxed set. That was fun to listen to because there were actual voice actors instead of just one person reading from the book, and I had fun listening to Aslan roar. :D

But anyway, I want to expand my “reading” by including audiobooks in my list. Audiobooks are good for multitasking (I can “read” while taking a shower! While cooking! While doing other things!), and it is absolutely perfect for the gym. Or when I’m walking.

However, they say that not all audiobooks are good, and sometimes a bad audiobook can ruin a perfectly good book. So here’s where you, bookish friends who have probably “read” an audiobook or two, come in: I need audiobook suggestions.

As much as possible, I want an audiobook of a book that I haven’t read yet. But if it’s one of my absolute favorites, or you swear that the audiobook is better, then I can probably give it a go. So, leave a comment with your favorite audiobooks and why it was your favorite and I’ll get it. Well, I’ll try, since audiobooks are a bit more expensive than normal books. I have the rest of the year to acquire them, anyway. So if there’s one audiobook that you really liked, then I want to hear about it (pun intended). Please? :)

Posted in: Reading Quirks \ Tagged: ,

BTT: In Public

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I don’t know what’s up with me, but I’ve been on a blog-following, blog-commenting streak the past few days. I think cleaning my Google Reader helped, because I started following a bunch of new highly-recommended blogs. :) This is me de-lurking, yo! I hope it lasts.

Anyway, I thought I’d participate in this week’s Booking Through Thursday again because I liked the question. :)

Booking Through Thursday

Do you carry books with you when you’re out and about in the world?

And, do you ever try to hide the covers?

Oh yes of course. I always carry a book in my bag (sometimes two!). I usually have one print book in my bag, and I add another one if I know I’ll be finishing that book before I get back home. I don’t always bring my Kindle because I think I already have more than enough gadgets in my bag. When I do have my Kindle, I leave the print book because there are more than enough ebooks in my Kindle.

But wait, there’s more! I also carry my iPod Touch everywhere and I also have a copy of my ebooks in the Kindle app. I also have most of my e-galleys from Netgalley and Galley Grab there, so if ever I happen to forget to bring a print book or my Kindle, as long as my iPod has battery, I can still read. I just have to turn the WiFi off and don’t listen to music when the “20% battery remaining” warning shows up and it will tide me over, especially for long commutes.

Do I ever hide covers? I don’t think so. Like I said, I’m not much of a cover person, so I don’t care that much. Then again, maybe I’m lucky that most of the books I read and take outside has decent enough covers. I hardly read any romance novels anyway — not that that’s bad, but I know some people who hide the covers in public when reading that! Hee. When I read hardcover books anyway, I don’t bring the dust jacket outside. And ebook readers have done a lot for cover shame.

Except of course, if the cover is just ugly. Like, general, public opinion ugly. You know what I mean about that, right? If you don’t…well, here are some examples spotlighted by That Cover Girl, Capillya.

Get it now?

Then again, if you’re really and truly enjoying the book and you love reading with abandon, this shouldn’t matter right?

What do you think? :)

Posted in: Reading Quirks \ Tagged: , ,