The Versatile Blogger Award

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When I was still new to the web design business, one of the things that everyone who has a personal website gives away and pines for are awards. I remember having an entire page full of awards for my site, and yeah, I was proud of it. Looking back, I realize that all those awards are just for hits and hits and hits, but then…that’s the website business, right?

Or not. Okay, I didn’t mean to be down with that — awards are fun. It’s just been a long time since I received one, so it was just kind of surprising. :)

Wait, I received two.

Thanks to Grace and Honey for giving One More Page the Versatile Blogger Award! If my blog had a face, it would be smiling like this: =D

The Rules for the award are:

  1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.
  2. Share 7 things about yourself.
  3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason! (In no particular order…)
  4. Contact the bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about the award.

Seven things about me:

  1. I name my gadgets. I feel like naming them helps me take care of them better, so I started naming them after I got my first laptop. My first laptop was named Ginger, and my first iPod was named Sam. My current gadgets are: Aslan (Macbook), Teo (office laptop), Macy (iPod Touch), Elyon (cellphone), Cornelia (cellphone), Wes (hard drive), Ashley (camera). The next gadget that comes in will be named Astrid after Rampant by Diana Peterfreund.
  2. My first love of genre is really chick lit. I love those fluffy books, but I realize that not all chick lit are fun to read (maybe more to this on a later post). Right now my favorite genre is young adult, because I get to live my teenage years all over again. Ha.
  3. I love Christian fiction. I love it when faith is written in stories I read. I don’t like preachy stuff of course (who does?), so I’m also picky with the Christian stuff I read. I admit that my faith and values influences how I rate the books (and I promise to post about this next time), so what others may like very much may not work out with me best because of something that goes against my beliefs or values.
  4. I have been a National Novel Writing Month participant since 2004. I’ve won since 2005, and I always, always love November because it gives me an excuse to be creative and to write as much as I can, even if it doesn’t always make sense. I’m also the Municipal Liaison for the Philippines, and I think I have the best bunch of novelists in the world. :)
  5. I like to run and dance. I don’t know if they like me back, but I enjoy it. I was never sporty, so I make use of the gym to get my exercise. It’s a blessing that running is such a low maintenance and not-so-competitive sport, so I can enjoy it without worrying if I will win.
  6. My dream car is a Honda Jazz. I want it pink, but not the light pink shade they have now. More like metallic pink. (Yes I love pink). There’s nothing wrong with having a dream car even if I don’t really drive, right? :P
  7. I think my body clock is perpetually screwed up. I have a rotating shift at work, which means I rotate shifts every two weeks for some client needs. I go from day shift to mid shift so I never have a permanent sleeping time it’s kind of hard to choose a time to sleep. I try to sleep before midnight when I’m on day shift, but I fail at it. Mid shift means sleeping at 2-3am. Now you know why I need coffee to be productive and cheerful.

I give this award to:

  1. Blooey of Bookmarked! – I don’t know if she got this award yet, but Blooey is one of the first book blogs I followed. I always trust her taste in books, and I am always amazed by her speed in reading and her talent at finding gems in the bargain bins. If there’s a real book lover out there, it’s Blooey. :)
  2. Chachic of Chachic’s Book Nook – It’s nice to know that there are other Filipino book bloggers who do the same memes as I do. Plus if it weren’t for Chachic, I wouldn’t have joined the Filipino Goodreads group! I like how thoughtful Chachic’s reviews are, and I trust her taste in YA fiction. I think you may have received this award multiple times now, and that is a testament of how people see your blog. :D
  3. Aldrin of The Polysyllabic Spree – Aldrin reads serious books. By serious, I mean books that I wouldn’t give a second glance to because I’m fluffy by nature. :P He’s one of the few guy book bloggers I’ve encountered, and even if I don’t really read the same books as he does, I like reading his reviews because they’re always so well-written. One of these days I’ll pick up one of the books you reviewed to see if I’d like it, too.
  4. Aaron of It’s the G World – This isn’t exactly a book blog, but he posts about books, so it could pass, right? Aaron is one of my new friends from the Filipino Goodreads community, and for the short time we’ve known each other, he’s like a younger brother to me. (Naks!) Aaron is nice, despite his villainous persona (Mighty Evil Overlord!), and he’s a firm believer of happy endings (did I get that right?), and I totally trust his taste on books. :P
  5. Lucy of Lucy Loves Fully Booked – I must give recognition to Lucy, Fully Booked’s resident blogger! I am a Fully Booked Fan, and it’s nice to know that they have started a blog, too, and I think it’s very helpful to connect to the local book blogging community to promote reading.
  6. Reggie of The Undercover Book Lover (Not Really) – At first I thought Reggie wasn’t from the Philippines, up until Honey listed her as a Filipino book blogger and when I saw one of her posts with a link to Children’s Hour. I emailed her, and she emailed back and I was totally psyched to know she is in the Philippines. I love her blog because there’s so many things to read about there, and she has the coolest contests. :D Plus, she owns International Book Tours, which help spread more reading love. If that is not a book lover, then I do not know what is. :P
  7. Ruby of The Fickle Fan – Ruby is my college schoolmate, and I was surprised to learn that she blogs about books, too! Her blog is not only about books, but movies, music and her travels.
  8. Forever Young Adult – I don’t know if they’ll notice this award since they’re really cool (they’re like the coolest kid in school :P), but I can’t not give this award to one of the most entertaining YA blogs I’ve read for the longest time. If you want honest and funny book reviews for YA books, go to them!
  9. Angie of Angieville – I found out about her blog from other book blogger friends and I love her reviews. Her reviews are always thoughtful, like she always takes the time to write about them, unlike how I do sometimes when I’m lazy.
  10. Alayne of The Crowded Leaf – I don’t really know Alayne, and I don’t think we have the same taste in books, either. But she’s always commenting on my Teaser Tuesday and Waiting on Wednesday posts, and she always had something nice to say. She deserves to be recognized.

Like the two girls who gave me the award, I don’t think I can get to 15 bloggers. But I hope you do drop by those 10 I listed above. It’s always nice to know that there are people all over the country and the world who share the same passion for books. :)

Thank you once again, Grace and Honey, for the award! :)

Posted in: Site Stuff, Squee! \ Tagged: , ,

Declaring What?

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Declaring Spinsterhood by Jamie Lynn BrazielDeclaring Spinsterhood by Jamie Lynn Braziel
Publisher: Independent
Number of pages: 286 pages
My copy: ebook from Amazon Kindle Store

What can you do when your family harps on you to get married (already!), when your delicious and alluring ex-boyfriend—cheater to the core—believes that you’ve fallen for another guy and sets out to woo and conquer (again), and when you suddenly realize that you have fallen in love with your best friend, the guy whose shoulder has always been available…but is presently being enjoyed by another woman? In Jamie Lynn Braziel’s riotous first novel, Declaring Spinsterhood, she explores the world of 30-something single women, the pressures they face to tie the knot, and what happens when that knot begins to feel more like a noose. In the world of Emma Bailey, nothing is sacred. Including, and most especially, marriage.

* * *

So I was aimlessly looking around Amazon one day, looking for books to buy within my monthly book budget. I admit to becoming hooked to Kindle stuff, so when I spotted some $0.99 books, I jumped and got one. After all, it’s only $0.99 — less than Php 50! It’s just like buying an app!

Declaring Spinsterhood sounds like one of those chick lit novels that I see almost everyday when I visit the bookstore. The theme is quite common: woman is getting older and still unmarried, family harps on her and tries to match her to everyone. Then there’s the annoying ex that she still somewhat likes, and then a guy best friend who she ends up falling for…but, oh, he’s in love with someone else. It’s typical, but I know that some authors can make some of these story cliches work for them and even make it seem original.

This one…didn’t work.

Emma Bailey seemed like a promising protagonist, with a wacky cast of characters in the background. However, Emma never felt like someone I could relate to. I wasn’t sure which was really moving here, if it’s the plot or the characters. Most of the time, it feels like the story’s forced to come out. I didn’t see much growth for Emma, nor with any other characters. Brian, the best friend, seemed like someone I’d like, but all the “sleeping-together-but-not-having-sex” thing had me turned off. Maybe I expect more for a guy best friend — a real good guy would have enough sense to just sleep in another bed, even if you’re best friends.

And wait. How can Emma and Brian be really close friends if they only met in six months ago?

It’s not that there weren’t any notable characters though. The so-called villains did get me annoyed. The mother didn’t feel realistic — what mom would banish her daughter from their home because she didn’t want to be married? Steve, the ex, was an annoying jerk, and I figured out the connection between him and Brian’s girlfriend by the second time he mentioned Chicago. I liked Kathy, the best friend, and at least she had enough sense to listen to Emma, but not enough sense to drive something into her, and help her grow.

However, I can’t really blame the author for the somewhat poorly developed plot and characters. The book was written as a NaNoWriMo novel, and from what I read, it is a NaNoWriMo novel. The book was self-published, which may explain the lack of polishing in the story. Maybe another round of edits could have made it better?

Declaring Spinsterhood isn’t exactly bad, but it’s not exactly good, either. Could be better. I’m glad I got it for $0.99 only — else I would be absolutely annoyed at an impulse buy again.

Rating: [rating=2]

Posted in: Reviews \ Tagged: , , , ,

A Fantasy Filled 2010

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If I would look through my bookshelf right now, one can’t help but notice the abundance of pinks, purples and greens on them, with titles that are, more often than not, very girly.

Yes, this is the part where I admit: I am a fluffy reader.

I don’t know how it started, but I fell in love with chick literature as I was discovering books beyond my Sweet Valley and Animorphs collection. I was enamored with empowered women who get into various scrapes and situations and emerge triumphant in the end. It came to a point that whenever I go to the bookstore, I always look for these brightly colored books, and ignore everything else.

Because of this love for “fluffy” literature, I end up writing more fluff than the usual. My three works in progress for NaNoWriMo (2006, 2008 and 2009) are all of the chick lit genre, and my fellow writers know about my love for all things fluff. I even have chick lit writing manuals at home, to help me write.

However, sometime in 2009, I suddenly felt tired of writing my story. I read through some of the synopsis of my other friends who were writing fantasy and felt a certain kind of envy for those with stories that are, quite literally, out of this world.

But that was the thing: I don’t read fantasy novels as much as other people do. The Lord of the Rings? Just watched the movie, no interest in reading the books. The Chronicles of Narnia? I have the books but haven’t started reading it. I read Harry Potter, but it was easy reading despite its fantasy genre. Give me other fantasy stories and I’ll just give you a blank look. Sorry, I don’t read it.

So in 2010, I decided to change my writing habits and venture into a new genre, to spice up my writing life. I decided (and declared, so I’m accountable to it) that I will be writing a fantasy novel for NaNoWriMo 2010.

Now here comes the big but: I don’t know how to write one.

Sure, it’s pretty much imagination and anyone can write a fantasy story…but I don’t know how fantasy novels usually go. If I try to write my story now, I’d probably end up writing it like how I write my chick lit ones. So how to prepare?

Read fantasy novels.

So as a part of my 2010 reading goals, I decided to read at least 20 fantasy novels for the year. 20 should be a good number, nothing too overwhelming, and I’ll be able to get a few ideas on how these stories are written so I could write mine. I can read more, of course, but I don’t want to burden myself…plus I still need my fluffy book fix. ;)

I already finished two fantasy novels (review to follow soon!), and I’ve got…about three more in my list. I look forward to adding more to my to be read pile, and discover new worlds in pages that I have yet to crack.

Care to recommend a fantasy novel my way? :)

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