Flipreads: Filipino e-Books for All

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There were a lot of things that happened last Friday, and yes, I think people made use of the 11.11.11 date to make the day more memorable and all that. Other than the 11/11/11 Challenge for our NaNoWriMo region and lantern launches all over the metro, Flipside Digital Content also launched their e-bookstore, Flipreads.com. :)

I was supposed to be at that launch but alas, work called, so I had to pass. But if you also missed the launch, well, here’s some stuff on the launch and the bookstore for your information. :)

eBooks now made accessible to Filipinos through Flipreads.com

Filipinos can now have easier access to eBooks through the online eBookstore, Flipreads.com. Likewise, authors and publishers can now distribute their eBooks more widely and securely through the same website, which was launched on November 11 2011 from 4-7PM at the Celebrity Sports
Club Grand Ballroom.

Flipreads.com is owned and developed by Flipside Publishing Services, a sister company of Flipside Digital Content. Flipside Digital Content, previously just a conversion house catering to four of the top six international publishers, is responsible for publishing and co-publishing more than 70 Filipino and Asian eBooks on Amazon, Apple iBookstore, and Barnes and Noble just in its first six months of operation. Most of these international eBookstores, however, are not available to the local populace.
Filipinos can only buy from Amazon, albeit with an added cost of $2 per book.

Now, Flipside is making eBooks more accessible especially for Filipinos through Flipreads.com. Readers can download eBooks onto their Apple or Android devices. They can even download it onto their PCs or Macs. Whereas before, Filipinos could only buy eBooks legitimately if they had credit cards, but with Flipreads, they may use other payment gateways such as CashSense and, in the near future, Globe GCash, and Smart Money.

Flipreads also serves as a secure distribution platform for Filipino publishers, authors, and other content providers. Therefore, publishers can now sell their eBooks securely through Flipreads.com. Authors can also opt to independently publish their titles through the site. Other institutions and
entities can also distribute their digital materials safely through Flipreads.

eBooks distributed through Flipreads can be made secure through the use of Adobe Content Server’s DRM. DRM stands for Digital Rights Management and is the means by which eBooks are protected from casual piracy. Alternatively, authors and publishers may choose to distribute their eBooks for free
through the Flipreads site.

Flipreads also hopes to provide a venue to publishers and authors to bring previously out-of-print titles back into circulation. Since everything is online, these titles will also be available to an international market.

For more information, email business@flipreads.com or call +632-5709255 or +63917-6206244.

I love the idea of this entire store, and I love that it makes books more accessible to people not only here but also in other countries. Of course, nothing still beats print books, but still, ebooks have come a long way and it’s really hard to deny ourselves that they are here and they help a book reach more people than a print one can. I mean, look: they have The Sky Over Dimas by Vicente Garcia-Groyon, and that was a required reading for me back in college. And they also have Blue Angel, White Shadow by Charlson Ong, which I reviewed earlier this year. And of course, they have High Society by Paolo Chikiamco and Hannah Buena (formerly known as Kataastaasan), which I definitely recommend. :)

Also, I love that this thing came just in time for NaNoWriMo. Who knows, maybe a NaNo novel will get published and sold through Flipreads.com sometime, yes? :)

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Trese 4: Last Seen After Midnight

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Trese 4: Last Seen After MidnightTrese # 4: Last Seen After Midnight by Budjette Tan and KaJo Baldisimo
Publisher: Visprint
Number of pages: 108
My copy: signed paperback, bought from Bestsellers

Foul play. Magic spells. Supernatural criminals. When crime takes a turn for the weird, the police call Alexandra Trese.

This graphic novel contains the following cases:

CADENA DE AMOR
In a neglected area of Luneta Park, where the grass grows untended, a man is found strangled by vines; which have started to grow outwards, killing anyone that gets in its path.

A PRIVATE COLLECTION
A manananggal has been found, tortured and murdered. The Manananggal Clan declares war on the Aswang Clan. Trese must find the real murderer before more blood is shed, before Manila gets in the crossfire of a supernatural gang war.

WANTED: BEDSPACER
A strange illness has affected the students living along Katipunan Avenue. The doctors are clueless on what’s driving these people mad with despair. Can Trese trace the source of this growing paranormal epidemic?

FIGHT OF THE YEAR
Once a year, in General Santos City, the demons and creatures of the underworld converge to watch a most awaited event, where the country’s greatest boxer fights for his very soul.

* * *

When I finished reading Trese a few months back, I was very excited to read the next book. Truth be told, I thought the fourth book was already out last year, so I added it in my Christmas wish list. Oops, my bad!

So I wasn’t exactly sure when the next installment would be out, but I wasn’t really in a big hurry because there were still too many books on my TBR. However, I admit to letting out a squeal of delight when I heard of the launch of the fourth book. Of course I will be there. Of course I need to get it. And of course, I need to get them signed. :)

With fellow book bloggers at the launch — thanks to Aimee of yellowlibrary.com for the photo :)

Trese 4: Last Seen After Midnight follows the same format of the first three books: 4 short stories each showing a case. But unlike Book 3, Mass Murders (my favorite), the cases were not connected. This is not a bad thing, and I wasn’t really expecting them to really continue on what was shown in the third book, although I know some people who would like that.

But then again, who cares? The fourth Trese installment is just as good as its predecessors, and possibly even better. The cases still deal with paranormal creatures from Philippine mythology and more. This time, Budjette and KaJo made use of pop culture and melded it into the cases flawlessly. Cadena de Amor got me humming Eraserheads’ Ang Huling El Bimbo as it reminded me of a recent murder case that hit the TV and newspapers everywhere. The Fight of the Year is undoubtedly based on Manny Pacquiao, and I really loved the explanation they gave on why crime rate goes down and why the boxer, “Manuel” fights so hard. Oh, and how can I forget — Alexandra Trese in a dress!

A Private Collection was written as a Trese short movie that didn’t push through, so there were more action scenes involved in this case. This is probably the one where I saw Trese in her angriest, and the one I felt most nervous because I thought she was about to get beaten. I’m curious now to see how this would translate to a movie — must be really, really cool. :)

But my favorite (and I think everyone else loved this one too) was Wanted: Bedspacer. In this story, Budjette and KaJo gives us a different version of the bangungot. Common knowledge translates bangungot to nightmare, but Philippine mythology equates this to the batibat, a fat spirit that chokes their victims as they sleep by sitting on their chests. However, in this story, the bangungot is a spirit that joins sad people in their loneliness, trying to keep their hearts from breaking by holding it, sometimes too tight that the person dies. There were no hardcore action scenes here, just some sleuthing and a sad revelation when they find out what really happened. I thought this was the one with the best plot, a great resolution, a reference to something that Trese did in book 3 and possibly even hinted a past heartache for Trese. :) This is why when they asked if Trese should get a romantic interest, I’m all yes! Not because I’m a girl, but because I think it would give Trese’s character more depth. I’m not saying she has to have a boyfriend — unrequited love has always been good writing material. :P

Mass Murders is still my favorite Trese book so far, but Last Seen After Midnight truly delivers. If you haven’t read any Trese books yet, well this is the time you should, because you’re missing out on a lot. Is it too early to say “I can’t wait” for the next? :)

My autographed Trese 4 :)

Rating: [rating=4]

Other reviews:
taking a break
I am Pinoy Peter Pan
RonReads

Reviews of other Trese Books:


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After the Storm: Stories on Ondoy

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After the Storm: Stories on OndoyAfter the Storm: Stories on Ondoy by Various Authors, edited by Elbert Or
Anvil, 128 pages

The pieces in After the Storm were mostly written in the midst of and immediately after the typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng in 2009. The writers share their experiences of the typhoon, their insights and reflections, their hopes and aspirations. Long after the news media has moved on to the next big headline, After the Storm hopes to stand as written record to remind everyone that this happened. We were there. We are still here.

Two years ago, on this day, I woke up and found it was raining hard. It was a normal occurrence, of course, since it was the rainy season at that time. I was all ready to snuggle down into bed and enjoy a rainy bed weather, thanking that I was safe and sound with my family, at home.

Then this happened:

September 26, 2009

It was two years ago today that Typhoon Ketsana, locally own as Ondoy, hit our country, submerging Metro Manila underwater. It should have been a normal day, especially for us since it has never flooded in the 20 years that I lived where I lived. But that day changed everything, and in a span of hours, we found ourselves trying to secure all the important things we own away from the rising waters of a flood that got into our house, and eventually evacuating to our neighbor’s house where we stayed the next two nights.

Typhoon Ketsana/Ondoy changed my life, and while I think I have pretty much moved on from this flood, it’s still one of the things that I will never be able to forget.

So that’s why I felt that this collection of essays edited by Elbert Or, After the Storm, is pretty much a required reading for me. When you survive a disaster like this, it’s either you completely turn away and try to forget about it, or move on and remember it every now and then, using it to make you a little bit stronger. I choose the latter.

After the Storm is filled with essays from different people sharing their various experiences that happened before, during and after the typhoon. These essays range from a creative piece told from the point of view of a floating hardbound book, to a senator’s reflections on the effects of the typhoon and the resiliency of the Filipino spirit, to a person’s thoughts on volunteering and even a firsthand account of a survivor from Provident Village in Marikina, one of the hardest hits of the flood. Needless to say, this was one of the books that I should not have read in public, because I found my eyes filling with tears every now and then. It’s hard to forget the fear, the disbelief, the wondering if things will ever be the same again after this, and if we will ever even recover from this.

To be honest, I wasn’t really feeling the first part of the book. It felt like some of the entries were written just to impress people, or to pat their egos about volunteering. I couldn’t relate, and I felt like it lacked the proper empathy that victims survivors would look for. I felt exasperated at the truth that shows just how unprepared we are, and how much the government lacked, and how some people pointed fingers at that. Some talked so much about volunteering that it almost didn’t sound sincere. On the other side of the spectrum, there was one essay that talked about how it is better not to volunteer and instead go back to work and donate money because it would be more helpful. As much as it made sense, I was kind of miffed. Are you just trying to comfort yourself with the fact that you didn’t take time off from work to help out? Come on. Tell that to the people who’s on the receiving end of the help.

But then somewhere in the end, I realized that maybe, just like grieving, there is never really a single way in moving on from calamities such as this. Maybe people cope differently. Maybe some people get so moved that they have to move physically, that they have to do something about it, such as organize a sandwich drive or volunteer for various relief efforts. Maybe some people get so shocked that they can’t do anything, except maybe find a way to spread the word. Maybe some people get moved to write. Maybe, some victims start off with shock, sadness, disbelief until they find the strength in themselves and in other people to help them become survivors instead.

There are people who suffered much more than I did, but it wouldn’t change the fact that Typhoon Ketsana/Ondoy changed my life. I think and I hope it changed everyone’s lives, with it has tested us. Anthologies such as this may not be perfect, it may not contain a very accurate account of everything that happened in those dark and stormy days, but I must agree that it’s a way of reminding us that it happened. And while we must move on, we must not forget.

Two years ago today, Ondoy surprised all of us.

We were there.

Yes, we are still here.

And yes, we are still standing.

And maybe, that’s really the point of this book.

Rating: [rating=3]

My copy: paperback from National Bookstore

Cover & blurb: Goodreads

Other reviews:
taking a break


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Filipino Readers Make it Social!

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My blogger friends have been posting about it since last month, so this is a late post…but you know what they say: better late than never! I christened the months of August and September as “book months” because of all the bookstores that go on sale during this month. It’s changed this year but around this time, all major bookstores in the country go on sale, and all of the sales culminate with the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF), where I have been known to go crazy a couple of times because of all the books on sale in one place. :)

There’s more reason to be excited for this year’s Manila International Book Fair because of this:

The 1st Filipino Reader ConferenceIt’s the first ever Filipino Reader Conference! It will be on the first day of the book fair, September 14, 1-6pm at Meeting Room 2 of SMX Mall of Asia. I know, it’s a week day, but if there was any time to use a vacation leave for work, this is a good one! I already filed my leave! :) This is the first ever gathering of Filipino readers, bigger than all those meet-ups and book club meetings that we’ve been blogging about in the past year! There will be panel discussions on different topics like blogging and book clubs, social media and bookishness, and all sorts of fun activities made especially for Filipino readers.

And did I mention some cool prizes up for grabs? :)

My blogger friends have been making a lot of noise with this event in the past few weeks, so if you haven’t heard about it…well, now you have! I’ll be the live Twitter-er for the event, so follow @PinoyReaderCon for updates! More fun stuff and information on the official website for the conference, too :)

Ten days to go until this event, friends! Are you going? If so, I hope to see you guys there! :)

 

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The Best of This is a Crazy Planets

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The Best of This is a Crazy Planets by Lourd de VeyraThe Best of This is a Crazy Planets by Lourd Ernest H. De Veyra
Publisher: Summit Books
Number of pages:  116
My copy: paperback, review copy from publisher

Lourd Ernest Hanopol de Veyra is many things at once: front man of the band Radioactive Sago Project, TV personality, poet, award-winning writer, blogger, and now, author. His two-year-old blog This is a Crazy Planets has gained a large following on SPOT.ph, and his best works are now compiled in a book of the same title.

With Lourd’s various entries on everyday life’s absurdities, This is a Crazy Planets mirrors Filipino pop culture in a way that is both humorous and endearing.

* * *

I’ve only heard about Lourd De Veyra through friends, because most of my friends are big fans of him. I’ve seen him every now and then on his TV5 segment, Word of the Lourd, and I have read some of his articles in his Spot.ph blog. But I was never really one who followed his stuff regularly. I wasn’t really 100% excited to attend his book launch when I was invited, except that I can’t really say no to a free, local book. Unfortunately, the launch happened on the night that tropical storm Falcon made an ocean of Manila.

I was glad when the publisher still sent me a book for review because despite my being a not-so-much-of-a-fan, I was curious about the book. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw how nice the book looked. Okay, it wasn’t just nice, it was quite beautiful for a local publication. My fellow bloggers and I often complain about the print quality of the local books here, but The Best of This is a Crazy Planets is far superior than the others. The paper quality is nice, the cover design is pretty and illustrations/artwork were there for every article. I am delighted to see that it was affordable for its quality, too – P195 (less than 4 USD) is a pretty good price to pay for a book that looks this pretty.

That price is even more justified once you read what’s inside. Like I said, I’ve only read a few of Lourd’s articles online, so I was pretty new to his writing. Lourd De Veyra offers a funny, oftentimes sarcastic but very real commentaries on Philippine current events, people, culture and even showbiz. I found myself giggling and having to hold it back whenever I’m reading this in a public place. Some of them, I can’t really relate to, some of them, I agree with, some of them, I just find really, really funny. Underneath its wit and sarcasm, Lourd’s articles show a lot of truth in the current state of our country. It’s not always pretty, and sometimes I feel bad when I realize that it is the ugly truth about the Philippines. But even so, Lourd never ever showed a hint of not liking his home country despite this truth (at least, that’s the impression on me). It’s like he writes it all out, shrugs and then says, “This is a crazy planet.” Or planets.

Why buy this book when you can read it online? Well, if you’re not enticed by the beautiful quality of this book and its relatively cheap price, think of it this way: you can read his articles even without Internet, even if you’re in the remotest areas in this crazy planet we live in. And I think that’s pretty much worth it, right?

The Best of This is a Crazy Planets is now available for Php195 in local bookstores nationwide.

Rating: [rating=4]

Other reviews:
taking a break

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