Monthly Archives: September 2012

Book Review

Book review: Stephen Chbosky’s “The Perks of Being A Wallflower”

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I couldn’t find a book trailer of “Perks” that I liked.

I bought my copy of “The Perks of Being A Wallflower” last year, mainly because everybody and their closest relation were telling me that it was such a great book that would totally change my life.

However, I never really got around to reading it until a couple of days ago, and it was only really spurred on by the release of the book’s movie adaptation. And partly by that photoshoot from Out Magazine.

So. Did “The Perks of Being A Wallflower” prove to be a life-changing experience for me? Or would I have been better off not picking up this book in the first place?

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My Life in Books

My post-MIBF report#2

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Admittedly, I didn’t spend as much time at the MIBF the way I would have wanted to. Since I was mostly either attending a talk, covering a book launch, or interviewing an author, I often only popped up at the exhibition floor to quickly check if there was anything I wanted to buy before zooming off to another appointment.

Nevertheless, I’ve yet to not enjoy this yearly pilgrimage to the SMX Center. If it’s not the great books that often only make an appearance during the MIBF, there’s the fact that I also get to meet so many people who are as into books as I am. I am with my people.

Also, this year I got my little sister to tag along, and I even bumped into my brother, and we all made a family excursion out of the whole thing. It was a little awesome, especially when I basically bullied my little brother’s girlfriend to buy a book by an author who was also signing at the time. I am a class act.

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My Life in Books

My post-MIBF report#1

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Unless you were hiding under a rock for the past week or so, you’d have known that the country’s premiere event for bibliophiles, the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF), was going on at the SMX Convention Center at the SM Mall of Asia.

Just like all the years I’ve been to this shebang, it’s been an exhausting but incredibly fun few days at the MIBF. I didn’t buy as many books as I did in previous years, mostly because I was flitting around SMX and the metropolis attending various book-related happenings. Is that a good thing? My wallet says yes.

Whenever I actually had time to browse the shelves, it was usually to take pictures or to pick out books that my younger sister has been eyeing for herself. I actually only bought just one book for myself this year!

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Book Review

Book review: Madeline Miller’s “The Song of Achilles”

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The book is more impressive than the trailer, trust me.

When it comes to publishing debuts, language professor Madeline Miller has certainly had it better than most.

After working on her debut novel, “The Song of Achilles” for 10 years, Miller finally found her book published late last year by HarperCollins.Not only that, her novel was met with almost universal acclaim. Man Booker Prize finalist Emma Donoghue named her the spiritual kin of beloved historical novelist Mary Renault, while The Guardian praised her prose as “more poetic than almost any translation of Homer.”

Early this year, Miller was awarded the Orange Prize, a £30,000 prize that recognizes English language fiction written by women.

While there may not have been as much fanfare when it made its modest debut in local bookstores — sightings are few and far between — a look at this young adult novel set in the time of the mythical Trojan War certainly proves that all the lavish praise has certainly been deserved.

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