Every Reader Knows This Well

Aside from your family, is there someone who is very close to you - someone who knows everything about you?

Here comes another page-turner young adult novel by Ms.Nina LaCour and Mr.David Levithan (so formal, eh? Every author deserves this, anyway).

You Know Me Well is a story told in the perspective of a gay named Mark and a lesbian named Katie (she prefers Kate than Katie). Mark is in love with his best friend, Ryan but he can't even admit it to anyone but Kate who is, on the other hand, in love with Violet (Kate's best friend's cousin). From being just seatmates in Calculus class to being friends, Mark and Kate become part of each other's life.

To be honest (not to boast), I read this book for only two days which means that I was totally hooked by the story. I could say that the story is IN nowadays. With the quite sensitive issue these days about same gender relationship, this book shows that when it comes to love, there's no boundary; there's no gender requirement.

As I read the synopsis of this book, I thought that Mark and Kate would be more than just friends. Yes, I'm wrong. However, their love for Ryan and Violet leads them to know each other well.

Remember my question? Mark knows Kate. Kate knows Mark - as simple as that but their friendship is incomparable that they can set aside their personal happiness to be with each other in times of trouble.

This book changes my expectations and leads me to discover what really is happening.Every page is a wonder. Ms.LaCour and Mr.Levithan nailed it!

Widen Your Imagination with Anne of Green Gables

          Every individual is a creator. He or she can make things out of his or her curiosity and creativity. Whether the result is good or not so good, an individual can create something. An artist has eminent masterpieces. A composer has wonderfully written songs. An author has best-selling novels.

         One particular character whom I met a few weeks ago is also a creator. She is a creator of endless imagination, incomparable optimism, and unbelievable shortcoming. She is Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables.

          AnnE Shirley (she likes to emphasize that she has an E in her first name) is an orphan who happens to be adopted by Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert (aged siblings who live at Green Gables in Avonlea and who wish to adopt a boy but because of misunderstanding, they get Anne Shirley instead). She is a talkative, imaginative, clumsy, unconsciously sarcastic, vain, caring, likable (it depends on the situation), and red-haired girl. 

           Albeit Anne has either good or not so good (again, based on the situation) description, you can't stop but fall in love with her. I do love her. I love her because of her personality. She may be talkative but every word she speaks shows genuineness. She may be imaginative but she makes you believe that what you see is only the small portion of what you really want to see. She may be clumsy but she teaches you to get up and learn from your mistakes. 

            Anne creates never ending dreams, goals, and imagination. How about you? What's your creation?

          

37th MIBF Experience

      Birthday. Anniversary. Holiday. There are a lot of days or events which we consider special and memorable for us. Saturday, September 17, 2016 became one of the memorable days in my life. It might be an ordinary day for you. But for me, it's extraordinary!

       I would have had regrets if I didn't make it to go to SMX Convention Center for the 37th Manila International Book Fair. Why? Let me enumerate.

         1. A VARIETY OF BOOKS WERE PRESENT! Fiction. Non Fiction. Classics. You choose. Books of any kind were there. (Hurray!)

          2. 20% (and up) OFF DISCOUNT

Books were cheaper than their original prices. No doubt why people brought eco bags and plastic bags with them. (I'm one of them.)

         3. SOME AUTHORS AND EMINENT PERSONALITIES? PRESENT!

It's fun to know that in this kind of event, you get to see people who are behind those inspirational pages you read and known actors whom you discovered as wide readers, too.

         4. PATIENCE = HAPPINESS

Carrying heavy books, check! Being surrounded with a lot of bookworms, check! Walking on a narrow aisle, because of the crowd, check! Being in a long queue for the payment, check! In spite of all these experiences, I never failed to be mettlesome. At the end of the day, I felt happy and gay! Every bookworm, I believe, felt the same.

           

Does thickness matter?

FIRST IMPRESSION, WRONG NOTION

Do you easily get intimidated with thick books? Do you feel anxious or doubtful if you can finish reading a certain story in a thick book? Well, I understand where you're coming from. I, myself feel that; or should I say, FELT that. When someone sees a thick book, he / she normally says, "It's impossible for me to finish reading that" or worse, "Is there a shorter version of that?" If I were you, I would do metacognition (thinking about thinking). Think about what that book can give you and or share with you. Think about why the authors spend their lifetime in order to create such thick books.

WHAT I DO WHEN READING THICK BOOKS

1. Place a bookmark every chapter

Whenever I read a novel, I put a bookmark in the last page of a certain chapter (example: Chapter 1 is from page 1 to 5; I'll put the bookmark on the 5th page then, I'll remove the bookmark on the 5th page to transfer it to the next chapter, and so on). It's like you're giving yourself a quota of what to read each day.

2. Treat the book as a close friend

When you have a close friend, it's fine with you hanging around with him or her at all times despite of his / her shortcoming. Thickness is not a big deal if you want to hang out with the book (I bet you, you'll be closer).

3. Read like you're watching your favorite tv series

Watching tv series makes you feel excited about the next episode. Just like in reading, when you finish a chapter, you can't help but turn the page to the next.
I started reading C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia last August 4th. It is a 767-page book (it includes the seven magnificent stories). Reading this book doesn't budge me at all for I know that it will be worth it.

BE ENLIGHTENED (please)
I hope these tips will be of great help for your thick book reading journey. Remember, thickness doesn't matter. Be patient. Good luck, bookworm! :-)

Don't Judge The Book By Its Movie

Are you a read-now-watch-later person or a watch-now-read-later type?

Most of the movies, I believe, then and now were / are  based on different authors' masterpiece.

The big question is, IS IT NICE TO READ THE BOOK FIRST BEFORE WATCHING THE MOVIE OR VICE VERSA?

Some people would say, "The movie is good but the book is better." Others would say, "It's better to watch the movie than to read the book."

Today, I take a stand. My point is, a book must NOT be judged by its movie. Yes, movies help the readers visualize better their thoughts while they're reading a certain book. They (movies) help them (readers) put their mind pictures into motion ones. NEVERTHELESS, books explain, expose, and elaborate some scenes which leave hanging questions to the viewers . One best example for this is Tobias Eaton, also known as Four from Veronica Roth's Divergent Trilogy. It's shown in the movie that one of his fears is his father, Marcus Eaton. Who would have thought that a Dauntless trainer, known as one of the courageous persons from the said faction is afraid of his father? Well, book for the rescue!

For me, it's better to read the book first before anything else. So what if the books spoil you of what will happen to the movie. At least, you know the story behind. You get the chance to understand COMPLETELY the story. :-)

A Typical Title But an Incredible Story

PECULIAR LIFE EVERY DAY
If one day you'll be given a chance to be somebody, who would you be? Have you imagined yourself living in somebody else's life? 

A, a soul whose life doesn't stop from leaping from one body to another (day by day). A, a soul who happened to live in a body of a man named Justin. A, a soul who didn't expect to meet a girl named Rhiannon (who happened to be Justin's girl friend). A, a soul who enjoyed being in Justin's body because of Rhiannon. A, a soul who tried to convince Rhiannon that it was he who made her happy in their ocean date (Justin's body) and who danced with her (Nathan's body) at a friend's party. A, a soul who learned to love and do everything for the sake of love. A, a soul who in the end decided to let go, thinking it's the only and the right thing to do. 

What struck me most in this story is the part where A saved a girl's life from commiting suicide. This girl has a journal where she put everything about what she feels or plans (suicide is part of it, gosh!). With the help of Rhiannon, A was able to succeed in his plan by asking Rhiannon to talk to the girl's dad.

It's not easy to be somebody. You have to do what you can't do. You are forced to do what you don't want to do. If you were A, can you do the same way?

Books Make You Feel Young at Heart

HOW WE MET
I was a student teacher back then and I was entrusted to handle Grade 5 pupils. I noticed that one of the pupils used to read DOAWK first book (the red one). I was so curious about it. Thankfully, that pupil lent me her book. I got a chance to read a few pages of it only because the schedule of my student teaching that time was very hectic so I decided to return it (tsk tsk). Whenever I visited bookstores before (actually, until now), I used to see DOAWK books being featured. Those books were very expensive or should I say I couldn't just afford to buy them(haha!). I told myself, "One day, I'll get another chance to read them!"

A SECOND CHANCE
I've been teaching children in the Primary Level for four years. One of the remarkable years is the third one. I've handled a class of bookworm students (only if you can imagine how my Library Corner looked like that time). They were fond of bringing a lot of books and asking me to read them for our storytelling time. Unfortunately, I had this particular student who was very shy and not so participative. I tried to do a lot of motivation to let him socialize with others and learn to speak in front of the class. Until one day during our DEAR time (Drop Everything and Read), I noticed that he liked reading (you guess) DOAWK! I tried to talk to him to share with me something about what he's reading. Those sharing days continued and this pupil of mine gained his self-confidence, little by little. He even lent me his TEN DOAWK books (1 per week, with his parents' consent).

THE WIMPY KID
Every beginning of the book, Greg Heffley (protagonist and narrator himself) used to note that DOAWK is a journal and not a diary. He also shares that having a journal is the idea of his mother, Susan Heffley, not his. When you were young, did you want to grow too fast? I mean, were you excited of growing old? Well, Greg Heffley is so excited for that. He's a boy in the Middle School who used to do things which are sometimes not appropriate for his age. He used to do risky things with the help of his whimsical friend, Rowley Jefferson. Greg and Rowley's friendship is like roller coaster, sometimes they're okay, sometimes not (most of the time they're okay). There is this part of the story wherein there are big boys who want to bully the two. These big boys asked Rowley to eat the rotten cheese. In their school, The Cheese Touch is very famous. Whenever someone touches the rotten cheese (even accidentally), all students will be running away from him/her. It's like a curse to them. Rowley was forced (not so good big boys, tsk) to eat the cheese. When many students came to the school gym, they were about to accuse Rowley for the Cheese Touch. Yet, Greg told them that it's he who touched the cheese.

WHO SAYS?
Readers / bloggers, books don't label what kind of persons we are. Who says that DIARY OF A WIMPY KID books are for kids ONLY? No one and no one should! Thank you, Jeff Kinney for bringing me into the world of Greg Heffley. Thank you also for being an instrument for the betterment of my shy student. After 10 books, I am looking forward to this...