ISANG HOPELESSLY LATE NA REVIEW NG ISANG HINDI ROMANTIC

Walang gaanong tao noon sa National Book Store. Kahit na nga mag-cartwheel ka nang apat na beses ay okay lang dahil walang gaanong tao na ma-we-weirduhan sa’yo, masisita ka nga lang ng guard sa loob. Pero nang makulimlim na hapong iyon ay hindi naman kami nandoon ng kapatid ko para mag-cartwheel, kundi bumili ng kailangan niyang gamit at kung may matitisod ay bumili na rin ng librong worthy pero mababa sa P200 ang presyo. 

Hindi naman ako nabigo. Habang abala ang kapatid ko sa paghahanap ng ID holders na kailangan niya, isang librong kulay pulang-pula ang cover ang umagaw naman ng atensyon ko. Ang bungad nito: Para Sa Hopeless Romantic ni Marcelo Santos III. Binasa ko ang deskripsyon sa likod, kasunod ang pagpapakilala sa awtor. At kahit na nga hindi para sa akin ang librong ‘yon dahil hindi naman ako romantic, ehem, napilitan pa rin akong siya’y bilhin. Bakit, ang tanong mo? Mamaya ko na lang sasabihin.

Umiikot sa kwentong pag-ibig ng limang indibidwal ang nobelang Para Sa Hopeless Romantic: kay Ryan, na naghahangad na magustuhan din siya ng secret love niyang si Maria na gusto rin naman pala siya; kay Becca, na natatakot nang magmahal ulit pagkatapos siyang iwan ng boyfriend niyang si Nikko na hindi rin naman pala siya kayang kalimutan; at kay Jackie, na hopeful naman sa isang magandang love story.

Horizontal ang treatment sa pagkakabuo ng istorya, karamihan ay flashbacks at pinagtatagpi-tagpi ang mga ito gamit ang point of view ng kasunod na character. 

Unique ang pagpapaloob ng awtor sa kwento ng dalawa sa mga tauhan (na bumubuo sa masasabing “totoong kwento” sa libro) sa kwento naman ng iba pang dalawang tauhan (na maituturing na “hindi totoong kwento”), at bihira ito sa ganitong uri ng babasahin. Gayunpaman, dahil dito ay nagmukhang pampuno na lang at huli na nang maisip ang panglimang bahagi kahit na ito’y kasama sa “totoong” kwento. Sa palagay ko, gusto marahil ng may-akda na mag-iwan ng isang kwentong magaan at nakakatuwa sa mambabasa bilang pagtapos sa kanyang akda.

Kung tutuusin, hindi na rin bago sa panlasa ko bilang mambabasa ang Para Sa Hopeless Romantic. Ang totoo, pamilyar na sa akin ang ganitong istilo (tawagin nating “hopeless romantic style”) sa pagsusulat tungkol sa kinababaliwan ng karamihan -- lalo na ng mga kabataan -- ang love. Gayunpaman, tunay na nakakabilib ang may-akda dahil nagawa niyang makabuo ng isang maayos na kwento at maisalibro ito. Kaya naman ang passion sa pagsusulat ng awtor ang para sa aki’y binabakas ng bawat pahina ng nobela.

Mas mainam sana kung walang “padding” na idinagdag ang awtor (kapansin-pansin ‘to sa unang bahagi) upang mapahaba ang obra niya at umabot sa kinakailangang bilang ng pahina. Ito yung tipong “backstories” na sa tingin ko’y wala naman talagang kinalaman sa istorya. Pero maaari rin namang ito’y paraan ng characterization ng sumulat. Kung ganito nga’y sana’y nagawa niya itong malinis at pulido.

Tulad na lang ng ginawa rin sana bago na-i-print ang libro. Palagay ko, hindi naging busisi pagdating sa proofreading. Sa maraming pagkakataon ay mali ang paggamit ng “ng” at “nang.” Ang salitang “tingnan” ay hindi rin gaanong tiningnan muna kaya ito’y naging “tignan” na lang sa lahat ng pagkakataon na ito’y ginamit sa nobela. Kapansin-pansin din ang pagkakamali sa mga petsang nailagay pagdating sa isang flashback.

Ang mga ito’y ilan lamang sa typo errors na hindi napalampas ng aking mga mata, na siya ring parehong mga mata na naakit ng isang librong pulang-pula ang cover kaya siya’y aking binili. Hindi naman ako nagsisisi. Dahil alam kong kapwa ko PUPIAN ang aking tinangkilik.

Para kay Marcelo Santos III, ang aking malugod na pagbati.

EH BAKIT NGA BA HINDI AKO CRUSH NG CRUSH KO?

Ay teka, wala na nga pala akong crush.

Pero ano nga ba ‘tong fuss (okay, I know super late ako) tungkol sa akdang libro ni Ramon “Lucky” Bautista – na noong una feeling ko eh “somebody” pero di ko kilala until natunghayan ko siya sa ewan ko kung nasa ere pa rin ngayon na May Tamang Balita at nagpakilala siya saken – at nagawa pang gawan ng movie adaptation? Ewan ko. Pero salamat na lang din: una sa aking bro sa pag-uwi niya isang gabi sa bahay bitbit ang isang hiniram na kopya ng Bakit Hindi Ka Crush Ng Crush Mo? at pangalawa, dahil ang librong ‘to ang nag-enlighten sa aking isa pala akong “Halamanization” expert.

Hindi ko masasabing market-moving ang librong ‘to. He he. Nang matapos ko ngang basahin in one sitting (dapat lang) ay tinanong ako ng kapatid kong nanghiram – at inunahan kong magbasa – nito kung maganda raw ba. Sagot ko ay isang medyo mahabang pause at “pwede na rin.”

For me, isa siyang reminder, kumbaga. Yung kalipunan ng questions and answers mula sa Formspring account ni RB – re signs na di ka gusto ng taong gusto mo, paano mag-move on, pagiging NBSB, at paano sasabihin sa parents mo na bumagsak ka sa eskwela – ang bumubuo dito, at ilang “selfie” pictures niya na may kasamang quotable one-liner sa ilalim. May mga tanong-at-sagot na totoong magpapangiti sa’yo. At meron ding ilan na talaga namang makaka-relate ka, tipong “teka, may Formspring acct. yata ako at ako yata ang nagtanong nito nakalimutan ko lang.” Parang ako, pagdating dun sa NBSB section.

So ayun.

Maidagdag lang. Kung sa radyo may Papa Jack, sa Internet (at print na rin ngayon) si Ramon Bautista ang counterpart niya. Siyempre minus the pagiging racy, dahil cool dude lang itong huli. At kung sakaling bibili ka ng sarili mong kopya o makakatisod ng hiram lang at babasahin mo ang Bakit Hindi Ka Crush Ng Crush Mo?, pramis sa isang picture andun si Luis Manzano kasama ni RB (na kamukha “raw” niya kaya pwede mong i-compare o kaya ipilit). Wala lang. Pakihanap na lang din dun si Aga Muhlach if you can. 

IN MY BOOK: THE DEVIL AND MISS PRYM by Paulo Coelho

Many a writer has flair for weaving stories that can make his readers think then leave them as is, but only few can make his readers think deeper and bring forth a life-cultivating judgment afterwards. Brazilian author Paulo Coelho – laying claim to million-copy international best-selling titles – undeniably belongs to these few. His novel The Devil and Miss Prym is but a testament to that.

 

The Devil and Miss Prym is the third and final book in the And on the Seventh Day trilogy, which focuses on stories of ordinary people as they struggle with issues about love, death, and power. It lets us be proverbial flies on the walls of Viscos – an ostensibly remote village with good inhabitants – as it suddenly receives a visit from “the devil” who brings with him a temptation.

 

Long on eye-opening parables and thought-provoking quotes, this novel will make you reflect on your Good and Evil sides, their differences, and the situations during which the two collide. It also latches on to human beings' fear when it comes to realizing their goals and dreams, thus providing some sense of inspiration to those currently saddled with their inhibitions.  

The Devil and Miss Prym may at times bother its reader, making itself a not "unputdownable" book. But that's definitely in a good way.

                                                                     

QUOTABLE QUOTES

                “There are two things that prevent us from achieving our dreams: believing them to be impossible or seeing those dreams made possible by some sudden turn of the wheel of fortune, when you least expected it.”

                “So you see, Good and Evil have the same face; it all depends on when they cross the path of each individual human being.”

                “I’ve just taught you the most important lesson in life. Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.”

                “There are two kinds of idiots: those who don’t take action because they have received a threat, and those who think they are taking action because they have issued a threat.”

                “Playing the part of a charitable soul was only for those who were afraid of taking a stand in life. It is always far easier to have faith in your own goodness than to confront others and fight for your rights. It is always far easier to hear an insult and not retaliate than have the courage to fight back against someone stronger than yourself; we can always say we’re not hurt by the stones others throw at us, and it’s only at night – when we’re alone and our wife or our husband or our school friend is asleep – that we can silently grieve over our own cowardice.”

HAIKU NO. 16

Pick it up

turn it quick

to the bookmarked

SO TRUE!



Got this off a book I stumbled on in a bookstore the other day. Yeah, hooray for books with no plastic cover that always pick my curiousity! I did not take note of the book's title, but I'm quite sure the author's a Filipino. Just thought of sharing it here.

 

Whaddaya say?

THE MUST-SEE MOVIE OF THE YEAR!

Ushering in the new year always brings about a feeling of looking forward to better things to come. For this year, save for a much better me (same as my resolve almost every year), there's another thing I have put my high hopes on -- the Hunger Games movie slated for March.

I think it is personally favorable that the film will be shown a week after my birthday, and so I can treat it as a belated birthday gift. Ha ha. This is not to mention that I've been kind of on Hunger Games kick since the start of the (new) year a few days ago -- rereading the book, visiting HG-focused blogs, taking HG-inspired personality quizzes, and feasting my eyes on gifs created by the fans of the trilogy -- just to, you know, prepare myself.


For the record, I'm not actually a fan of movies created based on novels as I often get disappointed with how the events are played out on the big screen. It's like the emotions I feel while reading the book don't cross over to what I experience when I see the film version. I dunno. It's not the case with some filmed novels I've seen though and I do hope it's going to be like that with this movie.

(Gifs from here)

DAY 9: MY FAVORITE QUOTES FROM THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH

I know I would never be able to come across this great and enormously influential (personally speaking) novel if it were not because of a dear friend who was generous enough to send me an ebook version of The Phantom Tollbooth earlier this year (indeed, thank you, Cath!). Curiously, I was made into one of its lucky readers and fans exactly half a century after the book was first published. See, it is never too late to discover wonderful things.

For me, The Phantom Tollbooth is all about appreciation of the world around us and knowing what really matters in life. Anyone would surely love and enjoy the allegories and the jokes peppered throughout the novel. Also, following the story of Milo and his trusted friend Tock as they make a tour from Doldrums to the Forest of Sight to the Valley of Sound and up to the Castle in the Air, meeting new friends and valuable experiences along the way, is like traveling to one's own enlightenment. This is truly a must-read for children of all ages.

I don't have a thorough review of the book. But what I have below is a list of my favorite The Phantom Tollbooth quotes.


"What you can do is often simply a matter of what you will do." -- Princess of Pure Reason

"So many things are possible as long as you don't know they're impossible." -- King Azaz, Mathemagician

"Think of all the trouble it saves ... If you only do the easy and useless jobs, you'll never have to worry about the important ones which are so difficult. You just won't have the time. For there's always something to do to keep you from what you really should be doing...." -- Trivium, on being a monster of habit.

"You must never feel badly about doing mistakes... as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons." -- Princess of Pure Reason

"...But it's not just learning things that's important. It's learning what to do with what you learn and learning why you learn things at all that matters." -- Princess of Sweet Rhyme

"Whatever we learn has a purpose and whatever we do affects everything and everyone else, if even in the tiniest way. Why, when a housefly flaps his wings, a breeze goes around the world; when a speck of dust falls to the ground, the entire planet weighs a little more; and when you stomp your foot, the earth moves slightly off its course. Whenever you laugh, gladness spreads like ripples in a pond; and whenever you're sad, no one anywhere can be really happy. And it's much the same thing with knowledge, for whenever you learn something new, the whole world becomes that much richer. And remember also that many places you would like to see are just off the map and many things you want to know are just out of sight or a little beyond your reach. But someday you'll reach them all, for what you learn today, for no reason at all, will help you discover all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow." -- Princess of Sweet Rhyme

"...There's a lot to see everywhere, if only you keep your eyes open." -- Alec Bings

"A sound which is not heard disappears forever and is not to be found again." -- writer, one of the marchers at the Valley of Sound

"A slavish concern for the composition of words is the sign of a bankrupt intellect." -- Humbug

"While it is wrong to use too few (words), it is often far worse to use too many." -- Faintly Macabre

"You see the way you see things depends a great deal on where you look at them from." -- Alec Bings

"Being lost is never a matter of not knowing where you are; it is a matter of not knowing where you aren't." -- Alec Bings


(Image from here)

DAY 3: THAT KIND OF LOVE IS...

I may have read all of the four books in the series and have watched the four previous movies that resulted from the franchise (AND may be looking forward to the second part of the latest one), but I DO NOT CONSIDER MYSELF A TWILIGHT SAGA FAN (I do have my own reasons). Yet, I couldn't help but say "WOW" when I first saw this Twilight fanart on this awesome website. And so I thought of sharing it here.



Amazing, huh?

I WANT TO GO TO THE MIBF, BUT I CAN'T!

I sometimes hate the fact that I don't have the fiscal capacity to be able to buy the things that I want, especially books. I love reading them and know they are an investment. But I'm the type who would always go for "what I need" rather than "what I want." That is, if I had to spend my hard-earned money for myself, new clothes would always top the priority list. Don't think I'm a fashionista or whatever because I'm obviously not, but I honestly don't own that much clothes either.

I also believe that most bestsellers are pricey and so that's a sad thing. Unfortunately, I haven't developed that propensity for picking the most worthy from visiting book sales. So that's another sad thing for me.

This is the reason why I usually resort to borrowing books from friends and opt to ask a book as Christmas/ birthday/ farewell gift. Well, let's just say that I've got an arsenal of pretty generous bookworm friends for me to be able to read the whole Harry Potter, Twilight and Hunger Games series and a lot more must-reads. Yeah, they think I'm not the kind who would add to the wear and tear their precious books have already suffered. Big thanks for that.

Urgh, so much for an introduction! I could have come up with entirely different – and a positive one for that – intro and title here had I dropped by the 32nd Manila International Book Fair in SM MOA, which ends tonight at 8. The reason why I was not able to albeit I really wanted to see it? Oh you have to read from the top to know why, I guess.

I'M DROOLING OVER THIS BOOK! AND I WANT IT NOW!

Well, sorry for that. As much as I wanted to lay my eyes on the pages of this graphic memoir, the title won't be available until the second week of April next year. I do have the choice to pre-order it from Amazon, but my fiscal capacity won't allow me to fork out $15.61 (which is roughly P700) for this book.

Here's a lowdown on the book anyway. Credits go to Tuttle Publishing's site, as well as that of the book's front cover photo.

Florent Chavouet, a young graphic artist, spent six months exploring Tokyo while his girlfriend interned at a company there. Each day he would set forth, with a pouch full of colored pencils and a sketchpad, and visit different neighborhoods. This stunning book records the city that he got to know during his adventures, a gritty, vibrant place, and full of ordinary people going about their daily lives. Realistically rendered city views or posters of pop stars contrast with cartoon sketches of iconic objects or droll vignettes, like a housewife walking her pet pig, and a Godzilla statue in a local park.

Florent Chavouet observes that, “Tokyo is said to be the most beautiful ugly city in the world.” With wit, a playful sense of humor, and the colored pencils of his kit, he sets aside the question of urban ugliness or beauty and captures the Japanese essence of a great city.

A QUOTABLE QUOTE

I really liked this quote from a very good read Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and thought that it was worth mentioning in a blog topic, perhaps about love or the like, but I haven't been much in a lovey-dovey mood of late (and just decided that I don't really want to be). But for the sake of having it posted -- which it rightfully deserves given the enlightenment it has given me about this so-called 'soulmate' -- I'll have it here anyway.

"...Your problem is you don't understand what that word means. People think a soulmate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soulmate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that's holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soulmate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soulmate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soulmates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave. And thank God for it. Your problem is, you just can't let this one go. It's over, Groceries. David's purpose was to shake you up, drive you out of that marriage that you needed to leave, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light could get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you had to transfrom your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master and beat it. That was his job, and he did great, but now it's over. Problem is, you can't accept that this relationship had a real short shelf life. You're like a dog at the dump, baby -- you're just lickin' at an empty tin can, trying to get more nutrition out of it. And if you're not careful, that can's gonna get stuck on your snout forever and make your life miserable. So drop it." -- Richard from Texas

I never would have thought a soulmate to be likened with a mirror had I not read this valuable piece of advice given to Groceries (that was how Richard from Texas called Liz back when they were still in this unnamed ashram in India). A soulmate, simply put, reflects what's inside us. He or she does not always correspond to someone of romantic value. And I guess it's all true, after all...