Mish-mash: ReaderCon FF4 + RR November 2013

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! :)

 

ReaderCon 2013 Filipino Friday (3): Book Drop!

Two reasons why this post is delayed: I did it on purpose, and I was just so darned busy again. I’m trying to catch up, really, but ack, I’m sorry if I’ve been neglecting this blog again.

But anyway, better late than never (and just in time for the wrap-up post, I hope! :D)
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Last week’s Filipino Friday is a little more interactive than the previous ones because it was the Pinoy Book Drop week. This idea started last year, after we started the Great Book Swap, which flew well. This year, we thought of putting it in a week (and onwards) so we could drive more activities. It was fun to see how many books were dropped through Twitter and Facebook, and I have a feeling there’s more that we haven’t heard from (like, you know, the ones with private profiles, or those who just didn’t tag us). I think people had fun doing the drops? :)

I have a little confession, though. I had five books to drop…but I only got to drop one. Like I said, I was so darned busy, that I hardly had time to prepare my books. :(

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols near Digital Walker in Eastwood

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols near Digital Walker in Eastwood

I feel a little bad, because I should have done more. But the good thing is, even if Book Drop week is over, I can still drop some books. And it’s another long weekend, so I’d have the time, right?

Right.

Oh, and I checked and the book is gone. So yay, whoever you are who got it, I hope you enjoy the book! You can check out the other books dropped through the #pbdrop hashtag. :) Did you find one?

Now because I only have one book for this post, I’m going to answer the second question, too:

Tell us about your most memorable or favorite book hunting experience. Have you ever found a book in a most unexpected place? If you find a dropped book somewhere, what would you do with it? Where do you get your books nowadays? Do you still go to bookstores, or do you buy/order books online?

This is years ago, as in I was still a freshman in college. My mom and I were in Robinson’s Galleria, where I met them after an event. I was browsing around National Bookstore, digging through the books to see if there’s anything there, when I found at the very bottom shelf, two books in a bundle. I pulled it out, just to fix it, when I saw the name of the author: Frank E. Peretti. I think I let out a little squeal when I read the titles: This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness.

I found out about This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti from a friend in high school, four years before I found that little treasure in National Bookstore. She lent me the book, and I read it in a few days and I was so amazed at it that I knew I wanted to have a copy of the book for myself. But it was an old book, so I didn’t really think I’d find a copy, until that day. And I was so surprised to find that there was a sequel to it, which made me even more excited because I had no idea there was a sequel.

So I begged my mom to buy it (because I don’t have enough money to do so yet), and I’m glad she did. I read the two books in a week, and I remember being so happy about that find that I emailed several friends about it. I was that happy — and I still have those books on my shelf. I don’t think I will ever let that go, even if the newer editions look nicer. Those two books sealed my love for Frank Peretti and reading longer novels. :D

It’s November tomorrow! That means the ReaderCon is just 9 days away! Don’t forget to pre-register here! 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. See you there! :)

ReaderCon 2013: Filipino Friday (1): Reader Species

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. ;)

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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 BusterYou 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 RescuerHave 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 ClubberFavorite 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-UnderA 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 ReaderBuy 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? :)

ReaderCon 2012 Filipino Friday 4: Books and Friends

Filipino FridayHappy Friday everyone! It feels like I’m waking up from a long, kind of unpleasant dream today, with the rains and floods that’s happened in Manila lately. I hope everyone’s okay, though, or at least, recovering well!

On another note, it’s a little over a week till the 2nd Filipino ReaderCon! Ahh, I’m so excited! Are you? :) It will be a very busy day for me, but I won’t mind. It’s going to be on August 18, at the Filipinas Heritage Library — if you haven’t pre-registered, make sure you do so now so you can secure your slot!

I also really like this week’s Filipino Friday topic — enough of the rambling now, let’s answer it. :)

August 10 – Books and Friends. We will have book discussions hosted by several book clubs during the ReaderCon, so to prepare us for that, let’s talk about books and friendships and book clubs. Are you a part of a book club? If yes, what made you join one? What’s your favorite activity that you have with them? If you’re not a part of one, will you consider joining one? Why or why not?

Or if you’re not (yet) a part of a book club, do you have friends who share the same passion for books as you do? Do you have a “bookish” best friend? If yes, tell us about them! How did you become friends? What’s your favorite memory with them?

I’ve been a part of Goodreads – The Filipino Group since late 2010. I’ve talked about the first meet-up I attended on the blog before, and like what I’ve kept on saying, it’s really one of the best decisions I’ve ever done. I’m a social person, and I really want to share the things I like with people who has the same interest. My online communities often die because I end up lurking forever, so I was kind of expecting that it would happen with this, too. But I guess meeting people in the flesh makes it different because ever since that first meet-up, I’ve been meeting with them quite regularly, and I can say that they really are my friends. *sniff*

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The first meet-up I attended with TFG

It’s been two years since that meet-up, and we’ve done so many things as a group. We used to have palengke meet-ups, or just informal meet-ups where everyone talks and exchanges books and all that. We watched movies together, hunted for books together, attended conferences together, partied together, and even went on some trips out of town with each other. Our big meet-ups used to be four times a year, but just recently, we’ve been meeting more often because of our monthly face to face discussions.

*cue photo dump!*

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

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.

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