Lavender & Coffee Stains

Dear Me,

Ain't I exhilarated to know that the films I have been waiting for will finally be shown in 2010? Well, definitely I am gorgeously ecstatic!



The Book of Eli -
Denzel Washington
January 2010
action/adventure, science fiction/fantasy

A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.




From Paris With Love -
John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
action/suspense
February 2010

A low-ranking intelligence operative (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) working in the office of the U.S. Ambassador in France takes on more than he bargained for when he partners with a wisecracking, fast-shooting, high-ranking U.S. agent (John Travolta) who's been sent to Paris to stop a terrorist attack.



SALT - Angelina Jolie
July 2010
spy thriller

Before becoming a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt swore an oath to duty, honor, and country. She will prove loyal to these when a defector accuses her of being a Russian sleeper spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture, protect her husband, and stay one step ahead of her colleagues at the CIA.



I wonder if there are other upcoming movies like those above. More will be posted later, right after I lure my little boy to go to dreamland for his afternoon nap. :)

Dear Me,

When was it? Hmm. *checking out her last entry in this blog. Oh, that was last October. Now, it's December already. Whew.

I've been pretty busy. I'm a mom and wife and for me, family takes precedence over everything else.

I've even declined social invitations so I can prioritize my little boy. I told myself not to attend any events this year. I had a scare the last time I was on my way to an event in Makati. I brought my little boy with me so he could stay with his father in his office. I left right after I dropped him off. But I got a call later from hubby telling me that Miguel was ill. He was vomiting and having diarrhea. I decided not to attend the evening event that day and instead go home & make my little feel a little better. It was weeks before he truly got well.

There are also other things to consider like my sister tying the knot (super) early next year and the great probability that my beloved hubby flying to a foreign land to seek greener pastures.

Also, I was in great mourning when my ...ultra-reliable pda (Ericcson P1i) was stolen in my bag while I was shopping in a bookstore. Hmp. So ironic. A bookstore is a sanctuary for me and being "assaulted" (in a way) in there somehow changed my perception. But of course, it's temporary only. Hehehe. :p

Aside from other family affairs, I was not really offline. I am always online.

I am always in Plurk and Facebook and top of that, I am currently engaged with my two blogs. One is a book blog called Bookworm Adventures and the other is a...err...*I don't really think it can be called events blog*...but it can be, too. Whatever. Anyway, Everything About & Around Town is mainly about the events happening in Manila. Most of the events that I post there are of great interest to me. Somehow it serves as a reminder or notification. :)

For the past two days, I have been more focused in my book blog. I redesigned its look by looking for a more homey (for me) template. The one that I used before was pretty boring and everytime I log in, I feel like dozing off. Hehehe.

From here on, all book-related stuff will be posted there. :)

I will be holding giveaways here and in my new book blog before the holidays. Stay tuned! :)

With this new BOOK blog, I am more inspired to start fresh this coming year 2010. What will be a nice way to focus is to start the year with a reading challenge!

Thus, I am participating in the Original TBR (To-Be-Read) Challenge hosted over MizB's Reading Challenges Blog.

I opted to join this one because for me, it is quite feasible. Another thing is, I am bound to join a number of other reading challenges slated to happen before 2009 comes to a close.

Main guidelines for this challenge:

Pick 12 books – one for each month of the year - that you've been wanting to read (that have been on your "To Be Read" list) for 6 months or longer, but haven't gotten around to.

OPTIONAL: Create a list of 12 "Alternates" (books you could substitute for your challenge books, given that a particular one doesn't grab you at the time)

Then, starting January 1, read one of these books from your list each month, ending December 31.)

To understand more about reading challenge, do visit the challenge FAQs.

Additional rules/guidelines for this challenge:

the challenge is to read 12 TBR books in 12 months — you can read those all in one month if you want, or one a month, or however you wanna do it.

you should have a list posted somewhere for others to see.

you CANNOT change your list after January 1st, of the current year!!!

you can create an Alternates list of MAXIMUM 12 books, if you want, in order to have options to choose from (you can read these in place of books on your original list).

audiobooks and e-books ARE allowed.

re-reads are NOT allowed, as they aren't TRUE "TBRs"

you CAN overlap with other challenges.

OPTIONAL: you can join the Yahoo! Group created for participants of the TBR Challenge, if you want to have a place to keep your list, or just to share with others about how you're doing!

While doing this entry, I am standing in front of my shelves and wondering which books to include in the challenge.

The books I am so eager to read before year 2010 ends are the following:

1. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
   
   
2. London Bridges by James Patterson
   
   
3. The Pentagon's New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-first Century by Thomas Barnett
   
   
4. A Girl's Life Online by Katherine Tarbox
   
   
5. The Killing Art by Jonathan Santlofer
   
   
6. The Copper Scroll by Joel Rosenberg
   
   
7. Critical by Robin Cook
   
   
8. Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile, Egypt, 57 B.C. by Kristiana Gregory
   
   
9. I'm Too Sexy For My Volvo: A Mom's Guide to Staying Fabulous! by Betty Londergan
   
   
10. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
    
    
11. Secret Servant: The Moneypenny Diaries by Kate Westbrook
    
    
12. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Since I have listed these books already for the challenge, I am now piling them in a corner so it will be a lot easier for me to pick them up to read. :)

Finding Clive Cussler among the high shelves of a local bookstore a long time ago was pure accident. I was on the look-out for new books + authors to read since it was a very "welcoming" payday for me. I had been doing overtime at work and the effort showed in my paycheck. Books being one of my vices, surely gave me outright pleasure to splurge.

I got ahold of one of his books, Vixen 03. It tells about the tale and adventure of Dirk Pitt, special projects director of National Underwater & Marine Agency (NUMA), as he discovers the ruins of Vixen 03.

Vixen 03 is down. The plane, bound for the Pacific carrying thirty-six Doomsday bombs -- canisters armed with quick-death germs of unbelievable potency -- vanishes. Vixen has in fact crashed into an ice-covered lake in Colorado. 1988. Dirk Pitt, who heroically raised the Titanic, discovers the wreckage of Vixen 03. But two deadly canisters are missing. They're in the hands of a terrorist group. Their lethal mission: to sail a battleship seventy-five miles up the Potomac and blast Washington, DC. to kingdom come. Only Dirk can stop them.

Dirk Pitt is such an unusually interesting character of the author Clive Cussler. He is a marine engineer, government agent and adventurer who seems like to have been blessed by the gods - in looks, brains, style and ability. It is no wonder why women drool over him. (Hehehe. Chickboy but a true gentleman at heart!)

I think I will classify Clive Cussler's adventure books into three (3):

1. the Dirk Pitt adventure novels
   
2. the NUMA Files adventure novels
   
3. the Oregon Files

Actually, Cussler also has other books that are categorized as either fiction, non-fiction and even children's books. I am more excited reading the adventures so I guess I am into those three as mentioned above.

In each category of the adventure novels, Cussler created three (3) fictional action heroes. In the Dirk Pitt adventure, it's Dirk Pitt; in the NUMA Files, it's Kurt Austin; in the Oregon Files, it's Juan Cabrillo.

Ranking them according to my interest, Dirk Pitt is my #1 pick and followed by Oregon Files' Juan Cabrillo. NUMA Files' Kurt Austin is my least favorite of the 3 but I still read it. =) Reasons: Dirk Pitt & Oregon Files are fast-paced adventures from the preface till the end while NUMA Files starts with agonizingly slow rhythm and picks its pace after a few pages.

Here is my hitlist:

Dirk Pitt adventure novels

• The Mediterranean Caper (1973)
  
• Iceberg (1975)
  
• Raise the Titanic! (1976)
  
• Vixen 03 (1978)
  
• Night Probe! (1981)
  
• Pacific Vortex! (1983)
  
• Deep Six (1984)
  
• Cyclops (1986)
  
• Treasure (1988)
  
• Dragon (1990)
  
• Sahara (1992)
  
• Inca Gold (1994)
  
• Shock Wave (1996)
  
• Flood Tide (1997)
  
• Atlantis Found (1999)
  
• Valhalla Rising (2001)
  
• Trojan Odyssey (2003)
  
• Black Wind (2004)
  
• Treasure of Khan (2006)

Oregon Files

• Golden Buddha (2003)
  
• Sacred Stone (2004)
  
• Dark Watch (2005)
  
• Skeleton Coast (2006)

NUMA Files adventure novels (co-authored with Paul Kemprecos)

• Serpent (1999)
  
• Blue Gold (2000)
  
• Fire Ice (2002)
  
• White Death (2003)
  
• Lost City (2004)
  
• Polar Shift (2005)
  
• The Navigator (2007)

I have already read the books that are struck off the in the list above. I still have more to go. =)

To papi, thanks for buying these two (2) for me. =)


For those who love reading adventure tales whether you are in your favorite nook in the house, under the breezy shade of a tree in a beach, in a quiet corner in a coffee shop, I dare suggest you check out these books by Cussler. I promise you won't regret it. *winks*

More on Clive Cussler here and here.

When waiting for someone at the mall, the most convenient and interesting place for me to wait up is the bookstore. It doesn't matter if it's the NBS, Powerbooks or any other bookshop for that matter. I love books and these bookstores are heaven for me.

Anyway, I was at NBS recently and I wound up buying books in the end. I bought 2 English books and 1 career reference book for my youngest brother and bought one for myself.

The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White is a classic reference book for English requirements. I was told that this book's a gem for every English student and aspiring writers (in my case, I'm the frustrated one). You gotta love English to appreciate this book.