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...]
Help children discover books, help them think for themselves and help change the world
April 15, 2011 By 19 Comments
The Arabian Nights on Kindle or iPad?
May 22, 2010 By 14 Comments
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
January 26, 2010 By 19 Comments
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...]
Hidden meanings and violence in children’s literature
September 8, 2009 By 32 Comments
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...]
Define misanthropy
September 2, 2009 By 13 Comments
Alex is very much into non-fiction these days. Danielle Steel, to be more precise, whose novels I never read although I did see the film version of "The Promise" when I was … [Read more...]
36 pesos from a second-hand bookstore
June 29, 2009 By 12 Comments
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
June 28, 2009 By 30 Comments
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
June 22, 2009 By 18 Comments
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...]
What does my 16-year-old read?
February 5, 2009 By 2 Comments
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...]
Book catalog
January 20, 2009 By 15 Comments
(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
November 19, 2008 By 13 Comments
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
November 11, 2008 By 4 Comments
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...]
Love and lawsuits
August 8, 2008 By 10 Comments
(Yesterday's column) "How to get sued" is a hilarious yet truthful look into the world of litigation. Its author, J. Craig Williams, is a practicing lawyer in California … [Read more...]
Encourage your kids to read…
May 19, 2008 By 37 Comments
... And never tell them that the only things worth reading are those labeled by the high-brows as profound. Alex reads a lot of manga online. There was a time when I … [Read more...]
The birds of prey and Batjay
April 29, 2008 By 49 Comments
Amado V. Hernandez's novel "Mga Ibong Mandaragit" (Birds of Prey) is required reading for third year students in the school that my daughters go to. When my younger daughter … [Read more...]
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