Beneath The Rubble of Book Ruins

By Alexander Tzonis

   In the world of book lovers, there are special creatures called book scavengers or hounds. These archaeologist like to hangout in the sale section of the bookstore.You can find them digging away beneath the crevices of crappy and obviously saleable items such as sweet valley high and how to collect pogs. Their work seems pointless but there is a science and an art to what they do since there is a lot of eye and hand coordination put into it. I know because I joined one of them in his excavations years ago. It does take a lot of patience but the work does pay off. For example, my uncle who is moving into collecting coffee table books has found a lot of great sale finds in National Bookstore Bacolod. One of them is the book Classical Greek Architecture: The Construction of the Modern by Alexander Tzonis which is pictured above. The book's inside as he showed me when I visited his home is a breathtaking homage to the Greek ruins thanks to its black and white photographs that play with the light to capture the romance of the gods. It is true nerdy delight to see its contents which aren't even found online.

  The book originally sold for $50 in Amazon turned into a Php 500 ($10) jewel when found by my uncle. Isn't that amazing? He showed more great finds last sunday through skype and what fascinates me more is the giddiness he has over his treasures. It is really fun to see other nerds happy. 

  Anyhoo, if you have your own share own great archaeological finds, please post them here and share your discoveries.

Paper Money

 Don't you love the hair?  Glenn Horowitz's funky top comes from being a rare-book dealer in Manhattan and earning a lot of mullah of it, over $50,000 to be exact. He sells rare manuscripts, journals and maybe even doodles of great authors like Virginia Wolf for big bucks. I found out about him through the always insightful New York Times. The article captured my interest because it is fascinating how fame even for scribbling some words can make anything you have turn into something immaculate. If I became famous, I would probably want to see my toothbrush or maybe my favorite mug sell for 1 million dollars after I die. How about you? What personal item would you want to be sold for a lot of mullah after you pass away?

 If you don't want waste your time, you can read the article through clicking the link below:

Profile | Glenn Horowitz

The Papers Chase

By RACHEL DONADIO

Published: March 25, 2007

How a Manhattan rare-book dealer has used unyielding persistence to build a booming market in writers’ archives and add glitz to a profession once seen as musty and obscure.

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Defects of Saints by Fr. Jesus Urteaga

     Oohhh! The title sounds so contraversial! I really do commend Fr. Jesus Urteaga's market savyness to attract detractors who are looking for ways to critize the Church. I know it worked because some of my relatives bought the book expecting to find potshots against Catholic saints. I don't blame them since the Philippines and the world in general thrives on rumor mongering especially when the target is innocent and good. Anyway, rumor mongering is not a good practice because we don't become any better than the people we talk back against. In fact, finding about good people's follies makes us realize that we are more prone to falling because if saints can fall, what more us? Yet, what we should also realize that the definite term of saint is reserved to the dead of heaven. Thus, the truth is that there are no saints on Earth.

   Before I get preachy, lets move on to the book. Urteaga's Defects of Saints focus on one saint per chapter and starts the book with the Old Testatment and finishes the New Testatment. The read is pretty light and has direct to the point narrative like a children's book. The moral of each story from most chapters is already minced into digestable bullet points. Thus, it is worth picking up just to reflect during your office break, especially for this Lenten season.

  One of the chapter highlights is on Judas Iscariot, the man who was to be saint. The narrative is dramatic and helps you get into the scene of what is happening to the man who would betray Jesus for silver coins. The description is pretty chilling and makes you consider strangling your cubicle mate and the like.

   So, if you are feeling a bit weighed in by the crazy stuff you did last year, I think reading this collection of stories can help you realize things are not so bad and things can be better with a little sacramental push. At least, God won't send a whale after you like he did with Jonah.

Author: Fr.Jesus Urteaga

Publisher's Website: Sinag Tala Publishers

Price: Estimated Php 400.00 or $9.00

Available:National Bookstore or University of Asia and the Pacific

Summer Reading for Him: Swashbuckling Adventures With Captain Alatriste by Arturo Perez-Reverte

  As you can imagine by title and the picture above, this book is very popcornable i.e ripe to be turned into a movie. If this was what you were thinking, then you are correct! This book will be released as a movie starring Viggo Mortensen from the recent Lord of the Rings films. The movie will be cut the title short to Alatriste and is surprisingly to be released first as a Spanish language film. According to Wikipedia, Alatriste is the most expensive Spanish film to date at 30 million dollars. So, for you lazy guys who will be waiting for the film, it is better to read the book first than brush up on your Espanol.

 Moving on, the book plays like a comic book so you have to be a silly cape boy mood to read this. You can't take it if you are into being "serious". Otherwise, the book will comeout as a satiric Don Quixote experience which is fun too in my case. To get a feel of Capitan Alatriste's character, below is a bad ass moment from our lead character who is being coaxed by an employer to do some dirty work:

"You have been out of prison only a few hours and you haven't a coin in your purse," he said. "Before two days pass, you will have accepted some paltry employ, escorting some conceited young peacock to prevent his beloved's brother from running him through on a street corner to slicing off a man's ears on behalf of a creditor…..Before you know it, you will be in trouble: a bad wound, a quarrel, a change against you. And then it will start all over again. He took a small sip from his jar and half closed his eyes, though he never took them off the captain. "Do you call that living?"                                                                                   Diego Alatriste shrugged. "Can you think of something better?" 

  Definitely Bad Ass with a capital B and A right? This I why I recommend it as a great way to play with your imagination this summer if you are all burned out from whatever you are doing, especially for guys. It just like a comic book with the clear cut heroes and villians, cheesy dialogue, high testoterone action and lady loves in the side. I guess the girls would rather wait for the movie and oggle at Viggo Mortensen instead .

 Before you start scavenging for this title, I must warn you can to take the book with the wonder of a five year old who doesn't over analyze. The book is placed in a time frame which is the the Inquisition but you can't believe its historical accuracy. This is because Alatriste builds on stereotypes like a comic book writers do and portrays everyone as seedy, vile, and grimey because it highlights Alatriste as a true hero and since it is much cooler that way. Thus, I think you will have no moral qualms if you just sit back and take the ride as it is, which is simple FICTION.

If you are really lazzzzzzzyyyyyy, click the link to watch the trailer below:
Youtube Alatriste Trailer with English Voice Over 

Author: Arturo Perez-Reverte

Author's Website: Captain Alatriste

Movie Website: Alatriste (Spanish Site )

Price: Php 675.00

National Bookstore Release: Available Now!

Summer Reading for Her: Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb

  Before I begin, I would like to note that the Canadian author Camilla Gibb will be in SM Baguio this March 18, 2007, Sunday at 3 pm for book signing. If you are already a fan of Gibb, I guess it is time to do some road tripping this weekend. 

   Continuing on back to this post, Sweetness In The Belly is easily classified as femme fiction. I mean who else would be drawn by the words "A Stunning Evocative of A British Woman's Quest of A British Woman's Quest for Love and Belonging in Two Very Different Worlds" but the whole female population. The word "Belonging" is oozing enough with tear jerker drama potential. However, this is Ph.D holder in social anthropology  didn't have this book shortlisted for Giller Prize (Canada's most prestigious literary award) and winning the Trilium Award for nothing. This book about a British Muslim Woman (is this a oxymoron?) struggling a cultural identity crisis in Ethopia is well written because Gibb's writing has a gentle and lyrical quality to it. As Lilly, the protoganist, recounts her life. I can't help but say that her words seem to wash over me as I read it. The writing has an unmistakable rhythm to it that seems to make me forget about the time. Aside from that, another quality of Sweetness is the setting that comes alive with the exotic aura of National Geographic. Gibb's descriptions envelope the feeling of watching a National Geographic special on Africa and all the striking images that come along with it. The book is not for everyone but it is worth taking a look at if you are in the mood of being moody.

 If this really ain't your type, check my next post as I write about Summer Reading for Him.

Author: Camilla Gibb

Publisher: Penguin

Price: Php 589.00

National Bookstore Release: Available Now!

Micro Aggression

Wow! I got the writing bug and decided to make an extra post. However, before reading this, look at the one below first .

  I am into finding quirky words and phrases and I just want to share a new word called "Micro Aggression". Micro Aggression is actually a name given to 1 1/2 inch wrestling toys.  However, I first encountered the word and was tempted to use it but I didn't know where to place it. So, I will define Micro Aggresion as

 The State of pinching someone out of anger. The anger is just enough to pinch or flick someone gently. It is the state before one gets angry enough to slap someone or punch them 

    I know I made that up but I can't wait to use it in a conversation. If you don't agree with my definition, feel free to comment back with your own. 

A House is Not Home, A Business is Not A Family?

     Honestly, I recently start work for the family business and have been called all sorts of names such as Child Of Owner and the like. The work has its perks but I have always been weary sitting in the boardroom with my parents and siblings. This is because if they are too hot handle at home, then things must be loopier at work. On some days, my theory seems to hold water. On other days, I gain a greater appreciation for my relatives and their abilities that I often take for granted. 

  Moving on and before I either get incriminated or emotional, I picked up Elfren Cruz's Setting Frameworks: Family Business and Strategic Management because I felt the company needed some direction and structure because things were getting a bit hairy. The book does have a lot of insights and solutions for creating an excellent family business. However, I warn you that Setting Framework is not for the weak of heart. It is not a miracle cure for turning your family unit into a lean and mean power ranger team. It is brutally honest about the bumps you may encounter and you know you will encounter in mending family and business into one word. This is reason why I sometimes want to throw the book away because the process sometimes seems impossible. However, I reflect a bit more decide that my problem is not impossible but just improbable so I go back to reading Setting Frameworks Again.So, if you are planning to read this book, make sure you are dead set making your plan work out right. Don't worry, if it doesn't work right, you still got your family and that is all that matters. Right?

 If you are still not yet convinced, below are Elfren Sicangco Cruz's credentials:

•  Professor at the De La Salle University Professional School
•  Business World Columnist
• Seminar Speaker the Family Business Center of De La Salle Manila
• Board Chairman of the Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises

Author: Efren Sicango Cruz

Publisher: Anvil Publishing

Price: Php 395.00

National Bookstore Release: Available Now!

Do We Need Heroes?

        It was timely that I was lent Heroes: A History of Hero Worship because I am all drummed up to view the film 300 on the Spartans.Otherwise, I would not be interested at all by Hallet's book. I was glad to be in the mood because based on the list heroes featured :

• Achilles
• Alcibiades
• Cato
• El Cid
• Francis Drake
• Wallenstein
• Garibarldi
• Odysseus 

  I would not pick it up because these are names I would find in school (sorry John D ). Yet, due to my new found dreams to be a Spartan, I started skimming the book and was quite impressed by the subject matter. The focus of the book is not a summary of heroes but rather to define what a hero is.The author achieves this through comparing and constrasting the heroes stated above. Also, she starts of with definition that heroes don't necessarily need to be good. Heroes are rather blots on humanity that seem to break the status quo and go beyond the matrix. In my opinion, I somewhat agree to this definition. However, I am more likely to believe that heroes are great not because they break the norm but due to fact they know the rules so well to the point that they know how to bend it.

   I recommend the book to humanities students and teachers who want to get some fresh ideas for class or learn how to make a proper comparison paper.

Author: Lucy Hughes-Hallett

Publisher: Anchor Books

Price: Php 699.00

National Bookstore Release: Available Now!

War, What Is It Good For?

  I am a real sucker for human conflict and the capabilities of man. I am always awed out we hurt the people we love or ought to love. At the same breath, I am also amazed the capacity of persons to go beyond logic and law to follow a greater one which is love. This is why I am also a real sucker for World War II stories, specifically the human interaction that occurs during this strange period where true brutality and charity is highlighted in man's nature. This is why I really sunk my teeth into Michael Bess' "Choices Under Fire:Moral Dimensions of World War II" when it was lent to me. The topics examined under each chapter are soo juicy that I couldn't help but be tempted to skip chapters or read all of them simultaneously. If you want to get my drift, below are some sample chapter titles:

 Upon reading, you are not guaranteed agree to his moral parameters and views based on your beliefs. However, you will admit that his method is thorough and systematic. Also, Bess is objective in the sense that he touches ground on many facets of WWII and as a consequence leads to a gold mine of insights. If you still can't swallow his ideas, at the very least, I think that you can laud on the book's efforts to at least stirs the reader to seek a true moral criteria not just for war but hopefully for life as well. In conclusion, Choices Under Fire is a good read for someone who wants to spur a discussion in the academe or just among nerdy friends. This is the reason why the author even dedicates the book's website to debating about the morality of World War II.
  Personally, the book has reawakened my fascination with Holocaust and I am planning to read Elie Wiesel's Night in the near future. If you have any World War II books focused on human drama , please comment below. Gracias!

Author: Michael Bess

National Bookstore Release: Available Now!

A Question of Time?

    I just finished The Time Seller last night and it really left me pondering about the worth of time and what we do it with. The concept of selling free time even five minutes of it is certainly thought provoking. The ending is also a mind better but I cannot divulge . Thus, I want to get feedback on how much are you willing to pay for free time(100php in the book for 5 minutes), how much will you buy with it and how will you spend it. Below is my answer…

How much will you pay for time? 1 peso= 1 Minute

How much will you buy? Two Weeks is fine with me.

What will you do with it? Read, Learn Something New, Travel..

 The Time Seller: A Business Satire

Author: Fernando Trias de Bes

Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Price: Php 1,375.00(Hardcover)

National Bookstore Release: Available Now!

Got Time to Read This Post?

    Today, we will look at "The Time Seller: A Business Satire" by Fernando Trias de Bes who is a big shot marketing consultant for Microsoft, Sony, HP and other name drop worthy brands. Despite his credentials, "The Time Seller" is not a marketing text book but is part of a genre called Business Fiction which sounds like the antithesis and the end of ChickLit which I hope is true . Like you, my interest was definitely captured and I started chomping away at book.

   This satire is about a character named Average Guy who lives in Unnamed Settled Area and decides to quit his job to sell five minutes of time in urine vials. I am admittedly in the  thick of it  but the rest of story dwells on what happens when everyone can afford five minutes of time for $2.00 or 100 pesos. It really gets wacky but I don't want to spoil the punchline. All I can say is that the humor is tongue-in-cheek for anyone who has worked in the corporate cubicle or at least studied about it. Fernando's comedic-business sense is really dead on because of his business credentials. It seems that his experience has allowed him to laugh at himself a little. If you like the Dilbert comic strip,  you will fall in love with this too. Like all satires, The Time Seller has moral gem in it but I have no time to tell you know. Click below for more information. ciao! 

The Time Seller: A Business Satire 

Author: Fernando Trias de Bes

Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Price: Php 1,375.00(Hardcover)

National Bookstore Release: Available Now!

New Titles! Fresh from the Oven!

  I just picked up the new titles for review from National Bookstore. Admittedly, I am having a euphoric experience just looking at the books. I still have to dig into them to prove their worth but most of them look like promising reads.

   Below are some clues into what is ahead for future posts:

•  Business Fiction…..This genre looks intruiging, no?
•  What does it take to be a hero? Learn from some ancient dudes..
•  War, what it is good for? Let's examine the moral dimensions of War…
• Hanging out with the Dalai Lama….
• Want to own a bookstore? Find out this week!

  There are more titles but the ones I gaves clues about are the more notable ones. Tune in this week to find out more about them.

Starting the Season of Lent with Dante’s Inferno

              I was thinking about what book to recommend for Lent and a lot of titles went in mind from the biography of John Paul II to the works of C.S Lewis. They are all great works but they seem to lack the push one towards repentance. Suddenly, I remembered a book that gave me deep pain and sorrow in both high school and college. This book was Dante's Alighieri's Inferno which is about the author's fictional journey into hell. To get a clear picture of how terrible hell is, below is the inscription written on the gates of Hell:

 "Through me is the way into the woeful city; through me is the way into eternal woe; through me is the way among the lost people. Justice moved my lofty maker: the divine Power, the supreme Wisdom and the primal Love made me. Before me were no things created, unless eternal, and I eternal last. Leave every hope, ye who enter!"

       Actually, the welcome sign is an understatement of the things to come. Dante's journey gets more gruesome as he descends in the circles of hell. This is because as one commits more hideous sins (the worse being a traitor), the closer he gets to the coldness of Satan himself. The notion of reading about the world down below may sound novel but The Inferno does have message in the end. It teaches rather than scares us souls about the reality of sin and how doing bad stuff is not apt to our nature. This may all sound above your head but you just have to pick it up yourself and feel the little demons nibbling on your ear. If you can't chew that, it is still worth picking up just to see how accomodations are down there.

 Buy Now Online for PHP 239.00 @ National Bookstore