Help children discover books, help them think for themselves and help change the world

I got an email from a fellow U.P. Law alumnus asking if I would share this project with my readers. You know how allergic I am to people asking for free advertising but this … [Read more...]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

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Very rarely does a book get translated into a movie and survive the translation. More often than not, a lot of substance flies out the window to comply with cinematic … [Read more...]

The Arabian Nights on Kindle or iPad?

Dreamworks' Sinbad was on Cartoon Network last night and Alex was already watching it when I entered the family room. I had never seen it before and I didn't know whether I … [Read more...]

Sometimes, it’s okay not to be the first

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In the age of mass media, and the internet, people have developed the “scoop” mentality. Everyone wants to be the first. Media outfits will pay good money to get the scoop … [Read more...]

Nature takes its course

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Yesterday after lunch, Speedy and I were having coffee in the bedroom. The sliding door leading to the garden was open and I had a good view of the portion of the garden where … [Read more...]

Hidden meanings and violence in children’s literature

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On Sunday evening, my daughter Alex sat down next to me in my study with Neil Gaiman's “M Is For Magic” in her hands. Apparently, a lot of nursery rhymes were referenced … [Read more...]

36 pesos from a second-hand bookstore

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I found this copy of James Clavell's Tai-Pan in a second hand bookstore, my signature on the flyleaf says I bought it in 1986 and the tag price on the front cover says I … [Read more...]

Crossover from Facebook

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I don't like memes and I don't often do tagging that is nothing more than a thinly-disguised meme. Even in Facebook, I don't respond to all the tags. There are, however, those … [Read more...]

The bookstore that loves me back

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There are three bookstores we go to regularly -- Powerbooks, Fully Booked and A Different Bookstore. What about National Bookstore? Oh, we go there for school, office and art … [Read more...]

Horror without gore

Note: I know that the blog has gone offline at least twice during the past 24 hours. It might be a hardware issue; still looking into it. [Yesterday's column] After … [Read more...]

What does my 16-year-old read?

Sam's books

Murakami's Kafka on the Shore was required reading in school. I suppose Sam fell in love with the author and has since bought a second book by Murakami. She has also made me … [Read more...]

A Chris Wooding book and Winnie the Pooh

A Chris Wooding book and Winnie the Pooh

When I conducted the digital photography workshop recently and waived the professional fee, an honorarium was given instead in the form of a gift certificate to a book sale. I … [Read more...]

Book catalog

(Today's column) Some people collect shoes, others collect trinkets, I collect books. See, I have a bad habit. I can't seem to pass by a bookstore without buying a book. … [Read more...]

I have a lot to thank manga for

C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia

Many people say it isn't good to provide children with their own computers and internet access. More say it's a mistake to let them go online unsupervised. I say that depends … [Read more...]

Revisiting Manderley

I'm reading Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca for the second time. The date on the flyleaf of the book says I bought it when I was 15 years old and I must have read it not too long … [Read more...]