Book Fairs: How to Have the Best Experience

Who doesn't love sales and discounts?

And us book lovers? I believe some of our magic words are book sales and book fairs! Aaaaah!

Personally, I am a sucker for book sales and book fairs. Give me an event here in the metro, and I will surely attend.

In line with Big Bad Wolf's comeback here in the Philippines (this time in Cebu), I want to share some tips I have "acquired" over years of book fairs. I know these may not be new, but for those first-timers, let me help you.

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys: Book Review

Title: Out of the Easy

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Publication details: February 12th 2013 by Philomel Books

Genre: Historical fiction

It's 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street.

Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test.

With characters as captivating as those in her internationally bestselling novel Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys skillfully creates a rich story of secrets, lies, and the haunting reminder that decisions can shape our destiny.

GOODREADS

A beautiful read about family, friendship, and identity.

Buying this book was not planned. I read Ruta Sepety's Between Shades of Grey and really liked it. So upon seeing this book at a sale (50% off the original price!), I immediately grabbed it.

I had no idea what the book is about when I read it. I was actually expecting a war historical fiction just like Between Shades of Grey, but I got a different kind of historical fiction- a good one too.

Weird Bookish Things I Do

Yep, you read the title right folks!

I believe that each of us has a quirky/weird side. Book lovers definitely have one or two or many. 😁

For this post, I will share with you those book- or reading-related things that are weird, but I do them anyway. Because why not be weird?

Smelling the pages of books

Okay. I know I am not alone in this one. But really, the smell of books, and especially new books, aaaah! It's addicting.😍

Gasping whenever I see a book in my to-buy list in a secondhand book shop

Countless times I have gasped aloud. No regrets, judge me all you want but a book in my to-buy list for a cheaper price? Who wouldn't gasp? 😮

Having a bookcase-ful of TBR and yet having nothing to read

Well, let's add to that 'and still buying more and more books'. This is a mood reader problem. Whatever I will read will depend on my mood. 😋

Ability to binge read

Oh yes, I can definitely binge read. Give me the time and a good series, and I will definitely. 😏

Not reading a newly bought book

Always. I want my new books to stay for quite some time on my shelves before reading them. I don't know why. 😁

Looking at photos of bookshelves/books/libraries for hours
Hello Instagram and Tumblr! I could scroll my day away looking at those pretty pictures of books. Aaaaah! I know it's not a productive move, but whatever. Haha!

-o-

So, those are the weird bookish things I do. Can any of you relate?

'Til next time! Happy reading!

Gemina (Illuminae #2) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff: Book Review

Title: Gemina

Authors: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Series: The Illuminae Files #2

Publication details: October 18th 2016 by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Genre: Science fiction, young adult

Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands. (Goodreads)

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes: Book Review

Title: Falling Kingdoms

Author: Morgan Rhodes

Series: Falling Kingdoms #1

Publication details: December 11th 2012 by Razorbill

Genre: High fantasy, young adult

GOODREADS

In the three kingdoms of Mytica, magic has long been forgotten. And while hard-won peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest now simmers below the surface.

As the rulers of each kingdom grapple for power, the lives of their subjects are brutally transformed... and four key players, royals and rebels alike, find their fates forever intertwined. Cleo, Jonas, Lucia, and Magnus are caught in a dizzying world of treacherous betrayals, shocking murders, secret alliances, and even unforeseen love.

The only outcome that's certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

It's the eve of war... Choose your side.

The Common Ground: Independent Book Shop in the Philippines #6

Hi folks!

How do you do? Summer's at its peak here in the Philippines, and the heat is killing me! Good thing I spend most of my time in the office which is A/C'd of course. 🌞

Anyway, apologies for not updating. Work's been busy. Mind's not in its proper place to review books. 😑

But here folks is another book shop tour!

What Happened: March 2018

Hi folks! Happy April!

First quarter of the year, done! That was fast!

Anyway, here's a short recap of my March. I managed to read 3 books despite my sched. Yey! And so far, I'm still keeping up with my reading goals. Whew! 😉

Book Haul #25: Humble Birthday Haul

Hi folks!

It was a quick March, eh?

March is my birth month. I was supposed to buy a lot of books, but fortunately I was able to control myself. Yey me! 😁

But of course, I still had a haul. It's inevitable. Haha! Look:

Tree (Rosales Saga #2) by F. Sionil Jose: Book Review

Title: Tree

Author: F. Sionil Jose

Series: Rosales Saga #2

Publication details: 2011 by Solidaridad Publishing House (first published 1978)

TREE is a story of a boy growing up in a small Ilokano town, surrounded by friends below his social class, by relatives and doting servants who have served his family all their lives. It is also a story of oppression and compassion. TREE belongs to Francisco Sionil Jose's largest body of work known as the Rosales novels. Like much of his fiction, it depicts man's continuing and often futile search for justice and moral order (back cover).

A coming-of-age story of a boy as he witnesses life and the unfairness of it all.

Tree follows a man brought back to his childhood days as he visited again his hometown. The narrator tells of his story growing-up in a small town, the people in his life- the ones he met, the ones he lost, their stories and the story of how money and power played a big role in their lives.

Pile Be Gone #9: The Return

Hi folks!

It's been a while since I set my monthly TBR goal. But folks, I really, really need to tackle my to be read books. Aaaaah! They are getting out of control!

So in order for me to reduce that ever-growing pile, here's another Pile Be Gone challenge for me. 😁

Let's take a look!

A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes #2) by Sabaa Tahir: Book Review

Title: A Torch Against the Night

Author: Sabaa Tahir

Series: An Ember in the Ashes #2

Publication details: August 30th 2016 by Razorbill

Genre: Fantasy, young adult

GOODREADS

Elias and Laia are running for their lives. After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt the two fugitives as they flee the city of Serra and undertake a perilous journey through the heart of the Empire.

Laia is determined to break into Kauf—the Empire’s most secure and dangerous prison—to save her brother, who is the key to the Scholars’ survival. And Elias is determined to help Laia succeed, even if it means giving up his last chance at freedom.

But dark forces, human and otherworldly, work against Laia and Elias. The pair must fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene—Elias’s former friend and the Empire’s newest Blood Shrike.

Bound to Marcus’s will, Helene faces a torturous mission of her own—one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape…and kill them both.

A page-turning sequel to An Ember in the Ashes.

Plot

Elias and Laia have gotten out of Blackcliff, but the journey to freedom and the truth is still far from over.