From books, we go to characters! Today is the second day of the Faves of TwentyEleven series hosted by Nomes of inkcrush. :) Characters are my favorite part in a book, and sometimes I think they may even be more important than plot. I believe strong characters can revive an overused or boring plot, so I always pay attention to them. Here are some of the characters that stood out for me in the books I read in 2011. :)
Faves of TwentyEleven: The Books
I remember making my own set of best-of lists for last year, but this year I don’t have that same gimmick, so I’ll ride on other bloggers’ gimmicks instead. Ha. Here’s my first post for the Faves of Twenty Eleven hosted by Nomes of inkcrush! :)
Day One: The Books
In My Mailbox (21): Sales and Komikon
In My Mailbox is a weekly book meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren, where bloggers post about what books received that week, be it via mailbox, library or store. I wasn’t expecting to write an In My Mailbox post this week, but three things happened:
- I finally reached my word count quota for NaNoWriMo.
- Eastwood went on sale.
- I went to Komikon 2011.
And so, I ended up with these:
- The Song of the Quarkbest by Jasper Fforde (Fully Booked) – Aaron told me last week that this book was already available in Fully Booked, just on the same day I wrote a Want Books post about it. I had a copy transferred while making a personal deal with myself to catch up to quota before it arrived. And I just that. I cannot wait to read this. :D
- Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (Fully Booked) – I borrowed a copy of this book from my friend RE early this year and I loved it. He told me that if I see a copy of this, I should grab it immediately. I saw one and grabbed one. :) I can reread this book anytime I want now, yay!
- Filipino Heroes League Book 1: Sticks and Stones by Paolo Fabregas(Komikon) – I already bought a copy of this months before which I lent to my brother and is currently missing. Anyway, yesterday I got to meet the author, Paolo Fabregas, at Komikon, so I bought another copy so he could sign it. And he remembered my review, too, so yay!
My FHL copy signed by the author :)
- High Society by Paolo Chikiamco and Hannah Buena (Komikon) – Of course I had to get a copy of this, after reviewing it just recently. :) Dibs on a pretty special colored cover because of that review too. Thanks Pao! I had it signed by him, but not by Hannah because we don’t know how she looks like and so we weren’t able t “stalk” her during Komikon. :( Maybe next time, then. :)
Signed High Society
- Tabi Po by Mervin Malonzo (Komikon) – We were hanging by the Flipside booth talking to Honey when she plugged this comic to us. It was the black and white version, and it seems pretty scary given the illustrations shown in the colored version in the iPad. Eep. Still, it looks interesting (and it was only P30, so why not buy, right?) If you’re more of a colored comic person, you can buy a copy from Flipreads.com :) I hope to read and review this sometime soon.
Signed!
And being a Trese fan, I cannot pass up something like this:
Signed glossy Trese poster in plastic case :)
It’s so pretty. :) Actually, we call it a placemat because it kinda looks like one. But this is going on my wall, once I’ve organized my room. Gotta love the detail in this one. :)
And there goes my week. Before I reward myself with anything else, I must get to 50,000 words on my NaNoWriMo novel first. Onward!
Trese 4: Last Seen After Midnight
Trese # 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:
In My Mailbox (20): Where did all these books come from?
This is me catching up on a couple of weeks of In My Mailbox posts again. It’s always more fun to post when you have more books to post about, right? :) Plus, I was out of town last weekend and I was just too exhausted to take photos and come up with an IMM post. Anyway, so many books in the past weeks — even I am surprised at my stash. Look:
Wee~
So, what did we get in the past few weeks?
I attended the launch of the fourth (and much-awaited!) Trese graphic novel at Robinsons Bestsellers two weeks ago. I’m not really a graphic novel person, but I loved Trese and I’ve been waiting for the fourth book ever since I finished all three a few months ago. :) The event was a success if you were to judge only with the number of people who attended (dress code was black, apparently :P). I do think it was an overall success because not only was it a full-house event, but also we got our books signed. :)