New Books from Booksale

I love going to Booksale. It's like going on an expedition to some historic archaeological site. There is always a new book to be unearthed and discovered. 

Over the past few months I have bought some interesting comic books. These are not the usual superhero-type comics, but are more of the alternative type. I don't think I'll ever get to buy these books in the mainstream bookstores or comic shops.

What makes these books so attractive to me are its price (costing less than 150 pesos) and its art work. The stories are engaging and I think the drawings make the characters more interesting. I might do a review of each book in a future post.

Aside from these alternative comic books, I also found some RPG books hidden behind one of the coffee book shelves. Most of them are fourth edition Dungeons and Dragons books. I think the price is reasonable, but I decided not to buy it since our RPG group has abandoned playing 4E.

Interesting Find @ Booksale

I found this hardbound comic book for just 170 pesos. The story is set in Cuba 1948, with a young talented piano player falling in love with a beautiful singer with an alluring voice. Their love story brings them to different places like Havana, New York, Paris, and America.

The comic book is adapted from the animated feature of the same name. I have a feeling that the movie is much better than the book, because movies have that audio component that makes the audience listen and appreciate the music and songs. You can't listen to music and songs in a comic book.

Another reason why I bought the book is because I loved the art. Flipping through the pages, I couldn't help but feel attracted to the illustration and the style of drawing. I loved the way the characters are drawn, the sketch of the buildings, the cars, and the simple bright colors really drew me into the book.

Thank you Booksale!

I'm so grateful that Booksale still sells those old comics from the 80s and 90s. You'll never imagine what treasures you'll discover there.


I visited the Booksale branch in SM Centerpoint the other week and guess what I found....



Copies of Dave Louapre and Dan Sweetman's Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children!

There are 30 issues in the series and Booksale sells around ten of those issues. I used to have a dozen of them back in college. The stories are interesting but a bit bizarre. The art evokes a certain strangeness and eccentricity to the characters and the plot. But I gave the comics away to a friend of mine as a Christmas present.





But since I found some back issues in Booksale, I decided to buy them all. Now I'll get a chance to reread these stories and hopefully be inspired by them.

Ranger’s Apprentice Book 1: The Ruins of Gorlan

By John Flanagan

I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who are tired of reading books about adolescent wizards and magic wielding dragon riders. These books seem to follow the same formula: young (reluctant) hero burdened with a great power and destiny, entrusted to save the world from an all powerful lord of darkness.

While I have nothing against these types of heroes, I’d prefer to read about ordinary adolescents who discover their own destiny and make their own mark in the world. I’d say that John Flanagan did a wonderful job, writing about Will and his adventures as a ranger-in-training.

The Ranger’s Apprentice chronicles a young boy’s initiation into the secret world of the Rangers. He learns that these forest warriors are highly trained in warfare, surveillance and stealth. Will quickly learns the tricks of the trade and he eventually helps his teacher and the other knights fight off monstrous creatures threatening to invade the kingdom.

What I like about this book is the pacing of the story. Flanagan immediately dives into Will’s story. He does not spend a lot of time elaborating on other things and people, focusing more on Will’s thoughts and actions.

Another good point is the author’s vivid narration of the action scenes. The book is filled with battles, from sword-fights, archery, and other forms of fighting. As the ranger’s apprentice, we also get to see Will’s training. Flanagan takes time to describe Will’s duties and lessons. We get to see him learn how to use the bow and dagger, and the way he conceals himself from enemies.

As the story progresses, Will becomes a competent ranger and becomes a great help to his mentor and friends. Unlike the protagonists of other fantasy novels (who use magic to solve their problems), Will solely relies on his skills and wits to get the job done. He is an ordinary boy, with a simple past and no big destiny. Yet he manages to help his teacher and friends defeat their adversary.

Managing a library

I'm helping my friends at NWA set up a science-fiction / fantasy library. The said library is supposed to be based in the group's coffee shop. As a kid, I used to dream of owning a huge library collection. The idea of having a library sounds nice and alluring, but the reality of managing books and cataloging it properly is a different story.

Me and a group of friends met up last night to discuss the logistics of the library, planning the inventory system, the borrowing and membership policies. It was a good meeting since we managed to start brainstorming about these issues, as well as problems that might come up once the library gets launched.

Still there are a lot of things that need to be done. Like delivering and setting up the bookshelves, cataloging the books, building the library policies and trying to implement them. Hopefully everything will according to plan.

Book Review: Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic

Years before the arrival of the Halliwell sisters and their trademark "Power of Three", writer Alice Hoffman came up with a novel about two witches tyring to live ordinary lives, dealing with family, and looking for love.

Practical Magic is the story of two orphaned sisters, Gillian and Sally, raised by their eccentric aunts. The sisters grew up in a household filled with magic. Their aunts acquired a reputation for being witches, selling love potions and hexes to their neighbors. The novel (and the movie) talks about their lives - from their everyday struggles to their romantic (mis)adventures.

People who watched the movie might try reading the book, since there are a lot of differences between the two. Personally I'd consider the book to be a drama story while the movie is more of a fantastic story.

In the novel, the sisters do not live with aunts and magic becomes more subtle and figurative as compared to the movie. The book focuses more on the relationships of the two sisters, it examines their struggles with one another, their families and their lovers.

I would understand why the magic took a more dominant role in the movie version. Adding more special effects - like spirits and curses would pull in more viewers. But the magical effects also succeeded in showing the sisters' relationship and struggles,

Despite their different approach, the novel and movie succeeded in portraying the characters and narrating their stories. Some people might prefer either the movie or the book, but I loved both the film adaptation and the novel.